The Act of Life
by Caskett092313
Summary: This fanfiction is the sequel to "Growing Up In New York".
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

It was Thanksgiving week; Lily was getting close to closing out the fall semester of her junior year at Stanford University. The very same Stanford University that was her mother's alma mater and the same University that had turned Lily's older half-sister down for early admissions a number of years ago before finally accepting said older half-sister. In a few hours' time, Lily would be sitting in one of the many terminals of San Francisco International Airport to board the plane that would fly her back home to the city that never sleeps so she could spend the holiday with her family.

Lily was actually looking forward to spending the holiday with her family. This holiday would be the first one ever where all three of her grandparents that were still alive along with her step-grandparent would all be at the loft for the holiday. In the last few years, Martha had stepped away from acting and being a life coach. Jim had retired just as Jackson and Rita had gotten out of the spy game. This Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's would also be the last one where it was just Alexis and her husband; Jack. Back around Easter; Alexis and Jack had announced that they were expecting their first child together after three and half years of marriage.

Little did anyone back home know, but Lily had a two karat surprise on her hand for them. Now the part of Lily's reading from her eighteenth birthday came true, she did eventually break up with Erik and she did start seeing Nicholas Javier. What the psychic hadn't mentioned during the reading three years ago was that Nicholas Javier was going to propose to her four days prior to them flying back to New York. Instead of calling home after she had said yes to Nicholas, Lily decided that she wanted to wait until they had gone home for the holiday to share the news with their families.

"Don't worry; Lil, they'll be happy for us." Nicholas Javier said.

The couple had been at the San Francisco International Airport for a while now.

"I'm not worried about whether or not they will be happy for us. I know that they will be. What I am worried about is us taking the attention away from Alexis, Jack and the baby."

Nicholas Javier knew at that point what his girl was really saying.

"Don't worry everything will be fine. Alexis won't be upset with you, nor will Jack."

Lily nodded to her boyfriend's general direction as she sent a text to her family back home.

 _We're at the airport, we'll see you in a couple of hours._

Now the game plan for Thanksgiving was for the dinner to be at the loft. Nicholas Javier's parents, sister and her boyfriend would join everyone for Thanksgiving dinner.

Just before the boarding for the five and half hour flight to New York was called, Lily got a response from her family. After she had read the text, Lily and Nicholas Javier grabbed their carry-on luggage when boarding for first class. As they approached the doorway to the tunnel that would bring them to the plane, Lily showed the airline employee their boarding passes on her phone. The airline employee gave them go ahead to board the plane so they could take their seats.

"The benefits of dating the daughter of a world famous mystery writer." Nicholas Javier said as they made their way to the plane.

"World famous-ish, hon." Lily corrected.

Shortly after that, Lily and Nicholas Javier had taken their seats in first class. Lily was talking to another person the plane that was seated near them that had overheard the brief conversation between Lily and Nicholas Javier just moments before. By this point in her life, Lily was quite use to being noticed when she was out in public due to her father's status as a best-selling author. Nicholas Javier was still getting used to being in the public eye all of the time just as it had taken Kate and Jack some time to get used to it.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Just as a note for all of my readers out there, there will be momentary pause between this update and the next. This due to two things; the first being that we here in the U.S. are dealing with it being the fifteenth anniversary of the terrible things that transpired back on Sept. 11th, 2001. #NeverForget, the second being it was quite hard to write this chapter of for multiple reasons.

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Chapter Two

"We're home." Lily called when they had come into the loft.

Everyone else was already at the loft for the most part by the time Lily and Nicholas Javier showed up. The only ones whose arrival that was still pending was the grandparents and Nicholas Javier's family. Over the years; the four Castle kids were able to have some sort of a relationship with their paternal grandfather and paternal step-grandmother due to the fact that they had retired from the spy game.

"Welcome home, Lil." Kate said as she hugged her daughter.

"Good to see you again, Nicholas." Rick said as he shook hands with the young man he had known since the day Nicholas Javier was born.

"It's good to see you too, sir."

It was then that Lily had seen what her siblings and their significant others were up to in the living room.

"Home videos?" Lily questioned.

"Yeah." Jake and Reece said in unison.

Everyone could tell how happy Jake and Reece were when it came to the home video that was on the television. When Lily saw which home video it happened to be she completely understood her younger brothers less than thrilled demeanor.

"That's the video from last Valentine's Day isn't it?" Lily questioned.

"It sure is." Kate answered.

Last Valentine's Day; all of the men had decided to perform to MKTO's _Classic_ as their gift to their respective significant others just as Kevin and Javi had performed to Daft Punk's _Get Lucky_ for one of the precinct's talent show fundraiser a number of years ago. Lily saw the same thrilled look on Nicholas Javier's face.

"Let's start it over."

With that suggested; Jake's girlfriend of the past two years, Grace, had started the video over. Everyone sat down to watch the home video when it started up again.

"We should watch this tomorrow when your sister and parents get here." Lily commented.

In the home video all of the guys from Rick down to Reece were dressed to the nines just like Tony Oller and Malcolm Kelley who made up MKTO were in the music video for _Classic._

"We definitely are." Kate, Alexis, Grace and Reece's girlfriend; Audrey said in unison.

Once the women of the house were in agreement, they could see the dismay in the guys' eyes. It was safe to say that the women got quite a kick out of all of this.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N in the previous chapter that I would publish the next chapter once we here in US got through the 15th anniversary of Sept. 11th and I didn't follow through. I am truly sorry for that everyone, but an unforeseen curveball on a personal and familial level in real life came out of left field that is still being dealt with so please bear with me and I'll update when I can.

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Chapter Three

The day after Lily and Nicholas Javier's arrival for the Thanksgiving festivities, the grandparents arrived while the Thanksgiving dinner was cooking. Martha and Jim were the first to arrive at the loft that Thanksgiving morning. Of course all of the Castle children were right there to greet Jim and Martha.

"Happy Thanksgiving Grandpa." Lily and the boys said together.

With that, Lily and the boys hugged their maternal grandfather.

"Happy Thanksgiving."

It was then that Jim turned to his step-granddaughter, who was eight months pregnant at the moment; to wish her a Happy Thanksgiving before he went to extend the same wish to his own daughter and her husband along with Alexis' husband.

"Happy Thanksgiving, Alexis."

"Happy Thanksgiving, Jim."

Just when the kids turned to extend the Happy Thanksgiving to Martha and vice versa; the collective was then joined by Jackson and Rita arrived. Following Jackson and Rita's retirement from the spy game; the two women that both had been intimate relationship with the silver haired former spy had become friends of sorts. Seeing the way that his mother and his step-mother reminded Rick of how friendly Kate and Meredith had become that time Meredith had invited herself to stay at the loft when Alexis had mono during her freshmen year at Columbia. Rick couldn't help but hear the phrase "Like father, like son" in his mind.

"So Alexis, how far along are you?" Rita asked.

"Eight months as of today."

"Well you look good, couldn't tell that you are eight months along."

"That's the Rodgers side of her at work." Martha said as she poured some wine for everyone.

Of course; Alexis and Jim went the non-alcoholic route for the obvious reasons. A while later; Kevin, Jenny and Sarah Grace arrived for Thanksgiving.

"When are we going to tell them?" Nicholas asked.

"Soon, I promise." Lily replied.

"Tell us what, darlings?" Martha pressed.

In that moment; Lily was a deer caught in the headlights for a lack of a better analogy.

"Let's watch that video from yesterday." Lily said trying to divert attention.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

"Tell us what?" Martha reiterated.

Just when Lily was about to share the news of hers' and Nicholas Javier's engagement news there was a knock at the door. It was then as Rick went to answer the door that Lily breathed a sigh of relief. Nicholas Javier on the other hand just shook his head at his fiancé.

"Who's there, babe?" Kate asked.

"Well Richard, are you going to let me in?" Meredith asked.

Just from the voice everyone knew that Meredith was back. They just didn't know why she was here now. After all it had been years since Meredith had been at the loft.

"Wasn't the last time she was here was…." Reece started to say once he along with his twin and Lily were beside Alexis.

"When I was sick with mono." Alexis said finishing Reece's sentence.

"Yeah."

Alexis left her siblings as her mother came in from the hallway. As Alexis and Meredith said hello to each other, Martha noticed how Kate was reacting to Meredith being there.

"It's fine, darling. She won't be here for long."

Kate nodded as Alexis asked Meredith why she had dropped by at the last minute.

"I'm here to see you before the baby comes."

Rick asked where Meredith was staying while she was in the city. It was then that Kate heard the late baseball legend, Yogi Berra had once uttered when Rick told his ex-wife she could stay at the loft. _It's like déjà vu all over again._

With an unexpected house guest in their midst, the sleeping arrangements for that night were switched up much to the dismay of Lily and the boys. It had been decided before the three grandparents and the one step-grandparent left to go home for the night that Meredith would be in Alexis' old bedroom while Alexis and Jack took the guest bedroom which had once been Martha's. It was then that Rick and Kate had told the kids where they would be sleeping.

When the kids learned that Lily would bunk with Grace and Audrey while the boys would bunk with Nicholas Javier. It wasn't long after the decision had been made that the minor revolt began.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: For all you out there who have said that this story has become boring and one-sided, here is a chapter that will hopefully pacify you.

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Chapter Five

Thanksgiving had come and gone. Nicholas Javier had left shortly after breakfast to spend some time with his family. Grace and Audrey were doing the same. So that just left Rick, Kate with all four kids and their son in law. Thankfully when it had come to Meredith staying with them at the loft like she had planned; Alexis and Lily with help from Martha had gotten Meredith out of the loft and to one of the many New York hotels for the duration of the time she would be in the city. Alexis and Jack were planning on heading over to Jack's parents' house to spend time with them.

"Do you have any plans for today, mom?" Jake asked as he and his twin came up to the island counter.

Kate had situated herself at the island counter after breakfast to look over files and reports that she had brought home with her. When Kate had looked up from her work, she had noticed that the boys had their baseball gear along with her glove in hand.

"No not really, just looking over some things for work while your sister shops with Grams and your Dad goes to his meeting with a possible client."

"Okay well there's a pick up baseball game in Central Park that our friends from Marlowe Prep are doing…." Reece started to say.

With their mother listening intently, Jake picked up where Reece had left off.

"We were and hoping that you would join us."

"I'd love to."

With that taken care of, the boys and Kate headed out to Central Park. Soon after the departure of Kate and the boys, the loft was empty.

"Hope you guys don't mind but we brought another player along." Jake said once they were at the park.

The boys' friends said it was fine with them as they said hello to Kate. Once formalities were squared away, the teams were picked. Then the game got underway.

It wasn't long before one of the teams had scored the first run of the game.

Hours later right around dinner time, the loft was full again. As Kate and Rick made dinner, they watched from afar as their four of their kids and their son in law conversed while enjoying each other's company.

Kate then leaned into Rick to whisper something in his ear.

"It's perfect."

Rick smiled as he recalled the first time those words were whispered to him many years ago.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"So it looks like it's just the two of us once again." Kate said as she and Rick were having what would be the first of many cups of coffee that day.

"Well that is quite true, but we both know that they will be back before you know it."

"Christmas is still four weeks away, babe."

"True again, but I have a feeling that we'll see before Christmas."

"It's a possibility, but Alexis technically isn't due until Christmas."

"I know that but the baby could come early. We'd get to see everyone when our grandchild arrives."

"Mhmm." Kate said as she sipped her coffee.

They both knew that when Alexis' had the baby, that would mean Meredith would be there too. They also knew that Meredith being around wouldn't make Kate very happy at all.

The night before, all four kid along with their respective significant others left to return home. For Alexis, Jack and the baby to be; that meant a drive Montclair, NJ. Obviously Lily and Nicholas Javier were catching a flight back California. Jake and Grace were heading back to Princeton University. Reece and Audrey were flying back to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to go back to the University of Alabama. Everyone would spend the next few weeks waiting to see if Alexis would have the baby.

Meanwhile Nicholas Javier wondered why Lily didn't mention their engagement before they left to return to college. Lily knew that was what going through her fiancé's mind while their plane made its way back California.

"I'll tell everyone about the engagement, I promise." Lily said.

"Yeah sure."

It was clear that Nicholas Javier was doubting Lily when she said that she would tell everyone.

Sitting next to them across the aisle on the plane was a nice lady who was probably around the age of seventy-nine turned to Lily and Nicholas Javier.

"Ah to be young and in love, it is a beautiful thing. Congratulations to both of you, but if you don't mind appeasing an old lady; why didn't you tell your loved ones about your engagement?"

"I don't know why; ma'am. You'll have to ask her." Nicholas Javier answered.

It was then that the seventy-nine year old woman turned her attention to Lily.

"Well sweetie?"

Lily then rattled off the same party line that she had been saying for the past few days. But the second after she did, Lily knew that the old lady didn't believe her in the slightest. For the next few minutes the old lady spent convincing Lily that she should tell her loved ones about the engagement.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: I am so sorry that it has taken forever to put up a new chapter in this story. As you can imagine life got in the way and then right around Halloween or a few days before it I got my copy of "High Heat" which I got completely wrapped up in it. Sorry for the inconvenience, hope you all enjoy the chapter below the line.

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Chapter Seven

In the weeks that interceded between Thanksgiving and Christmas both of the Castle boys had one last football game for their respective Universities. This meant a bit of traveling for everyone who wished to attend the games. First up was the big rivalry game between Princeton University and Yale University, thankfully today was being held at Princeton University which meant a drive from the loft that was only an hour and a half long. Both Rick and Kate knew that when they had arrived at the university; that they would be greeted by Grace while their son suited up for the game.

"Mr. Castle, Mrs. Castle; over here." Grace called when she saw her boyfriend's parents.

Rick and Kate made their way over to where Grace stood.

"You can call us by our names." Kate said when they had joined Grace outside of the stadium.

"Okay."

Grace told Kate and Rick that the three of them could stop by the team's locker room to see Jake before the game. A short walk brought them the locker room. As they waited for Jake to step out of the locker room, they overheard one of Jake's teammates telling him that he had some visitors.

"Hey Mom, Dad; glad you were able to come."

"Of course." Rick said.

"We wouldn't miss it." Kate commented.

Once Jake hugged his parents, he leaned over to Grace to kiss her.

"They're just like we were in the beginning."

"Like we still are." Rick corrected Kate as he went in for the kiss.

"Okay, okay; that's enough of that you two." Jake teased.

"Don't be jealous, son."

Jake made a face as Kate shook her head and Grace went all bug eyed for a moment.

After that the group parted so Jake could be a part of the pre-game team huddle in the locker room. Rick, Kate and Grace went to find their seats that surrounded the football field.

By halftime; the Princeton Tigers were down by seven. The teams had retreated to their respective locker rooms for a while as everyone who came to the game listened to the two universities' halftime performances. After the game, the plan was for Rick and Kate to take their son and his girlfriend out to a post-game dinner.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

It wasn't long before the Princeton versus Yale game ended. Jake and his teammates could tie the score up in the third quarter of the game which they did; then shortly after tying the score up, the Princeton Tigers then took the lead. By the end of the game, the Princeton Tigers had won. The quartet went out to dinner just like they had planned it.

A few days later, Rick and Kate were boarding a private plane that belonged to one of Rick's writer buddies that would take them down south. After this last game, Rick and Kate would return home to the city and return to what their normal everyday was. Eventually Christmas would be upon them and the whole family would be together again. As Rick and Kate waited for the pilot to get clearance from the tower for them to take off, Kate turned to her husband once she was completely settled in.

"It shouldn't be long before Alexis has the baby and not long after that our other little girl won't be our little girl anymore." Kate said.

Rick had a puzzled look on his face after that. "What do you mean by that?"

"Oh babe, how could you not know? It was quite obvious."

"What was?"

Before Kate could respond in that moment the pilot came over the speakers to tell them that they had been cleared to take off.

"Lily and Nicholas are engaged."

"Wait what? How do you know that? They haven't said anything."

"Call it mother's intuition, babe. And they probably haven't said anything yet because Lily likely doesn't want to steal the spotlight from Alexis and the baby."

As the pilot steered the plane down to Alabama, Rick mulled over the thought that he would at some point in the future be walking Lily down the aisle to give her away. He hadn't been ready to give Alexis away when Alexis and Jack got married a few years ago. Rick knew that it be the same thing this time around when Lily and Nicholas got married.

Sometime later the plane had landed in Alabama. After they had de-planed, Rick and Kate made their way to the hotel they had booked a room at for their time in Tuscaloosa. Rick had ordered for a car to pick them up at the airport.

When they had arrived at their hotel, they had been greeted by their youngest son and his girlfriend. The quartet was going to have brunch together before Reece's game. Once brunch was over, Reece would head over to his team's locker room to be with the team and get ready before the game. Audrey would ride over to the stadium with Rick and Kate in the car that Rick had gotten.

Unlike the way that the Princeton versus Yale game had gone, the University of Alabama game against Ole Miss had gone the other way. Reece and his teammates had the lead by the end of the first half of the game. By the end of the fourth quarter Ole Miss had tied it up which sent the game into overtime. Around a quarter of four in the afternoon, the game had come to an end with a win for Ole Miss after triple overtime.

After the game, the quartet spent some time together as they walked around Tuscaloosa.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Sorry it has taken so long to update this story but it is the holiday season which mean real life comes to the forefront. I also had to take care of a personal family thing which occupied some time. I will try my best to update again as soon as possible, until then I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

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Chapter Nine

The weeks between the football games and Christmas had come to pass. Everyone was on their way back to the loft for the holiday. The wait for Alexis and Jack's baby to arrive on the scene. It was obvious that Alexis was ready to not be pregnant anymore. Rick could hardly wait to meet his grandchild for the first time. In the back of Rick's mind, he figured that the excitement he was experiencing when it came to his first grandchild was likely the same thing that his mother went through all those years ago, when Meredith was pregnant with Alexis and how his father in law felt when Kate was pregnant with Lily.

Everyone was coming to the loft at different times throughout the course of the day. Christmas Eve itself was still a day away while Christmas Day was still two days away. Since there was still a lot left to do when it came to decorating the loft and the gigantic Christmas tree as well as some last minute gift shopping for Rick. Kate on the other hand had just a bit of paper work to do.

In between pulling out Christmas decorations out of storage and shopping; Rick welcomed Martha, Alexis and Jack to the loft. Once they were situated, Rick left them to decorate so he could finish up his Christmas shopping. Within seconds of starting his trek down to the first store he was planning on going to, Rick got a call on his phone from Kate.

"How's the shopping coming, babe?" Kate asked.

"It's about to start in a few minutes."

"What? You haven't started yet."

"Mother, Alexis and Jack arrived at the loft just as I was leaving."

"And you had to get them settled and delegate the decorating before you left."

"Pretty much."

"I assume you told them what to have Lily and the boys to do when they get there."

"I left that to Alexis and mother to decide."

Now in the weeks that had preceded Christmas, Kate and Rick had learned from conversations with Lily and the boys that their daughter and sons' respective significant others were spending Christmas with their own families. The plan was for Lily and her brothers to get together with their respective significant others to celebrate Christmas together in the time frame between Christmas and New Year's.

"So how's the paperwork coming, Kate?" Rick asked.

"I'm almost done, the only paperwork I have left is what I needed you to do. Which you are by the way more than welcome to come by and do." Kate said.

"I knew you'd say that, but we both know that I don't like paper work and that there is shopping that needs to be done before it's too late."

"I know that. I'll see you at home."

With that the phone call between Rick and Kate was over. Kate went back to her paper work as Rick went to shop. A little while later; Kate was home with her mother in law, step-daughter and son in law. Rick had texted her to say that he had a few more stops to make before he came home. Shortly after Kate had answered Rick's text; Lily, Jake and Reece had come home.

When Rick came home from his shopping excursion; his family had been in the middle of decorating the Christmas tree. It wasn't long after, Rick had set the shopping bags he had in his and Kate's bedroom; that Alexis had gone into labor. In what seemed like one fluid motion; the entire family was making their way to a nearby hospital.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Sorry for there being another long time gap in between the last update and this one. The holidays came as we all know and I just couldn't find any sort of inspiration to write until now.

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Chapter Ten

As soon as the entire Castle family had gotten to the hospital; Alexis had been admitted and whisked off to the nearest labor & delivery suite. Jack was with her as they were brought to the hospital. Now came the waiting for their loved ones. Jack's parents came to the hospital shortly after Alexis and Jack had been brought to the labor & delivery suite. Rick had called his ex-wife; Meredith, to let her know that their daughter was in labor. He knew in the back of his mind that their daughter would like to have her mother along with her step-mother. Rick also knew that Meredith wanted to be there for the birth of her grandchild.

Meredith arrived just a few minutes after Jack's parents had. Lily had offered to go to the hospital café to get coffee or anything to drink for whoever wanted something since they were going to be there for a while. As they waited for the arrival of Baby Castle-McIntyre. No one except the expectant parents had found out the gender of their little one. Alexis and Jack had opted to wait until their baby was born to let their family know whether it was a boy or a girl.

A while into waiting, Kate had called the boys at the precinct to let them know that she wouldn't be returning to precinct.

"How's Alexis doing?" Javi asked.

Kevin had answered the phone when it had rang and put the speaker phone on so that his partner could partake in the phone call. When Kate had called the precinct; Javi had just gotten in from getting lunch for him and Kevin.

"As far as we know everything is going as it should." Kate answered.

"That's good, we'll let Lanie know."

"Thanks."

In the back of the minds of Kate, Rick and their friends was the possibility of there being a complication during the delivery like there had been all those years ago when Jenny was in labor with Nicholas Javier. Everyone was hoping and wishing that the delivery would be a smooth one for the sake of both the baby and Alexis.

About an hour or so after Kate had called the precinct, Jack came out to the waiting area to give an update to his parents and his in-laws. Obviously by then, Lily had returned from her run to the hospital café.

"What's going on, son?" Jack's father asked.

"How's Alexis?" Rick asked.

Jack cleared his throat before he answered the questions of his father and father in law.

"There's been a complication in the delivery." Jack finally answered.

"What happened?" Meredith asked showing concern for her daughter and grandchild.

"There's meconium aspiration in the baby's intestines and the umbilical cord is wrapped around the baby's neck. Before all of this the baby was in a breech position which the doctor was able to fix without a problem. They're doing what they can now to rectify the other things."

Everyone nodded as Jack went back to the suite that they had been brought to hours prior. As everyone worried, hoped and prayed for everything to get better; Kate turned to Rick just as she had when they were waiting with Lanie and Javi when Jenny was giving birth to Nickolas Javier.

"Can you make a wish that everything turns out better for them?" Kate asked.

Rick was having a minor case of déjà vu.

"I already have. One for the baby and one for all three of them." Rick answered.

With that Kate smiled as she buried herself in the warm and comforting embrace of her husband that she had become accustom to over the years.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: And the suspense is over... Lol. Enjoy.

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Chapter Eleven

After the family had been updated by Jack; Kate had let the boys know what was going on. Once they had found out that there had been complications during the delivery; Ryan, Esposito and Lanie wasted no time in getting to the hospital to be there with their friends and their family. Ever since the day that Rick had needled his way onto the team during the Tisdale case; that they all had become one big family. So it had only made sense that Lanie and the boys would be there just as they each had been the supportive friend when there was a new baby coming into the fold.

When Lanie and the boys headed to the hospital, they had told their respective spouses and their respective children that they would keep them posted on what was going on with the delivery. The minutes had passed with a lot of concern on everyone's faces while they waited. It wasn't long after Lanie, Kevin and Javi had arrived that Jack had come back outside of the delivery suite.

Within seconds of coming into the waiting area of the hospital's maternity ward; Jack was instantly surround by everyone.

"What's going on?" Rick asked.

"Is everything okay?" Kate asked as everyone got up from their seats.

"How's Alexis?" Meredith inquired.

"How's the baby?" Jack's parents asked in unison.

The expectant great-grandparents hung back a bit so that the others could be up front. Lily and the twins were also right up front too.

"Everything is good. The doctor was able to deliver the baby. As soon as the baby was born, they were able to take care of the umbilical cord issue and the meconium." Jack answered.

There was a collective sigh of relief from everyone that could be heard throughout the maternity ward.

"Okay now that everything is good with the baby and Alexis. Give us the scoop on the baby." Lily said.

"Yeah, is it a boy or a girl?" Jake asked.

"How big was the baby?" Reece questioned.

The impatience of her grandchildren put a smile on Martha's face as she saw how excited they were to have a new niece or nephew.

"We have baby girl. She was 7.4lbs and 20.5 inches long."

"What's her name?" Martha asked.

"Hallie Rose Castle-McIntyre."

As everyone congratulated the new father, the new mother was in the labor and delivery suite bonding with her daughter.

"Welcome to the world Hallie Rose, now this is probably going to be calmest things will be for a while. Soon enough you'll overcome with family when they get past your daddy." Alexis said to her daughter.

Little Hallie Rose laid in Alexis' arms, cooing and looking up at Alexis. Shortly after that, there was a knock at the door. It had been decided that everyone would come into see Hallie Rose in turns so that mother and baby weren't overwhelmed.

"Can we come in?" Rick asked as he lowered his hand after he knocked on the door.

As expected Kate was with Rick. Their hands were laced together as Kate followed her husband into the delivery suite.

"Dad, Kate; I'd like you to meet Hallie Rose." Alexis said as she handed her daughter over to her Dad and step-mom.

"She's beautiful." Kate said as she looked down at the baby.

"Beautiful just like her mother." Rick commented.

After Rick and Kate met Hallie Rose; it was Lily and the boys' turn to meet their niece. Jake's parents got to meet their granddaughter followed by Martha, Jackson and Rita. Meredith was the last out of the family to meet the baby. Once the family had met the newest addition; Lanie, Kevin and Javi got to meet the baby.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

The days since Hallie Rose had arrived on the scene had passed and now she was home with her proud parents. Meredith had stuck around for a while after her granddaughter was born and came home to "help out". Jack's parents would come over to help after Meredith left then once they had returned home, Rick and Kate would step up to help the new parents out when they needed it.

Christmas had been celebrated once things had settled down for everyone after Hallie Rose was born and her precinct family was able to meet her. Being the first grandchild of Richard Castle seemed to have it fringe benefits just as being one his four children had. Miss Hallie Rose had made out like a bandit with toys and other things when it came to Christmas.

There was a day where Alexis needed a bit of help/motherly advice after her in laws and Meredith had gone home. On this particular day it was just her and Hallie Rose since Jack had gone back to work. So it was a late lunch that afternoon, Kate had met Alexis and Hallie Rose at Peter's Café just as she had met Alexis at the same café to talk after Alexis had broken up with Pi all those years ago.

"I hope that you I haven't kept you waiting too long." Kate said when she came up to the table where her step-daughter and step-granddaughter had been seated.

"We've only been here for a few minutes, it's all good." Alexis said.

"So what's going on? Is everything okay with Hallie Rose?"

"Everything is fine and she's fine."

"Okay, then what's going on?"

"Then what's going on?" Kate asked.

"Everything is fine, she's fine…" Alexis answered.

"Okay then; what's wrong?"

Kate was trying to figure out what was going on.

"It's just that I don't know what I'm doing when it comes to being a mom. I keep thinking that I am going to mess up somehow."

Kate completely understood where Alexis was coming from. She felt the same way when Lily came onto the scene all those years ago. And just like Alexis had sought her out for advice; Kate had done the same when she went to Martha for advice.

"You can do this, I know that you can. I saw how you were with your sister and you were great with Benny when we were looking after him."

Alexis smiled, it was comforting to know how confident Kate was when it came to Alexis being a mom.

"That was different. I wasn't responsible for their upbringing like I am with Hallie Rose." Alexis admitted.

"You can handle this, you have Jack to raise Hallie Rose. And you have all of us to be there for both of you; for all three of you." Kate said.

After that; the Castle ladies enjoyed their lunch out and their time together. At one point, Hallie Rose was a little fussy which provided the opportunity for Kate to help Alexis out if she needed it.


	13. Chapter 13

Happy 95th Birthday to everyone's favorite Golden Girl; Betty White.

* * *

Chapter Thirteen

The three youngest Castle kids had return to their respective colleges once their winter breaks were over. Lily and her brothers were quite proud when it came to showing off their new niece. Their friends back at their different colleges had known that their sister; Alexis was pregnant but they didn't know that the baby been born yet.

"Did your sister have her baby yet?" one of Lily's friends asked over lunch one afternoon at Stanford's student café.

"Yeah; Alexis had the baby."

"When? What did she have?"

"She had a girl on Christmas." Lily replied.

The rest of their lunch continued with Lily telling her friend what Alexis and Jack had as well as well the baby's name, how the baby's measurements before she showed off the picture of her holding her niece for the first time.

"Aww; she's so cute." Lily's friend said as she saw the picture.

About six miles short of three thousand miles away from Stanford in Tuscaloosa; Reece was showing Audrey the picture of him holding his niece for the first time after they had filled each other in on what they did over the winter break.

"She's adorable, Reece. And she definitely adores her Uncle Reece."

There was a pause in their conversation for a moment. When it resumed; it was Reece who broke the silence.

"It still weird to here that. Uncle Reece. I'm still getting used to it; I guess."

Audrey smiled as the two of them went on with their day. Over nine hundred and eighty-one miles away from Reece; his twin was bragging about Hallie Rose.

Jake and Grace's group of friends were quite interested in finding out about the newest addition to Jake's family. Before they had met up with their friends; Jake had gone over to Grace's dorm to spend some time with her before they went out with their friends. Even Jake was having a hard time wrapping his mind around the fact that he was now Uncle Jake.

After Lily and Nicholas Javier had gotten back to Stanford; it had sunk in for Lily that she was now Aunt Lily. This was where the age difference between Alexis and her three younger siblings was quite apparent. For Lily and the boys being an Aunt and Uncles at their young ages was a bit odd for them.

To say that there was a lot of adjusting going on amongst the Castle kids would be the understatement of the year to say the very least.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

Several weeks after Hallie Rose was born; her Uncles along with their respective girlfriends as well as her Aunt and her Uncle to be were on their way back to New York for what they thought was another accommodation given to their Dad for his help on NYPD cases as a civilian consultant when it was the opposite of what they were thinking. In fact, it was a double family event. The first being a welcome to the world and a welcome to the family party for Hallie Rose. The second was set to be a surprise engagement party for Lily and Nicolas Javier.

So as Lily, Nicholas Javier, Reece and Audrey flew home from the airports in California and Alabama; Jake and Grace were driving back to the city. Things for Hallie Rose's party were getting underway at the loft. Martha "supervised" the party prep as she looked after and played with her great-granddaughter. Alexis loved seeing her grandmother with her daughter. In all fairness; she loved seeing her Dad and Kate with Hallie Rose.

"Let me get this straight; they don't have any idea of what is really going on?" Martha asked.

"No; they think that I am giving Rick an accommodation for his help on our cases." Kate replied.

Martha nodded as she went back to "supervising" and adoring her great-granddaughter just like she adored her grandchildren.

Later; that day when it was just Rick and Kate still wide awake in the living room of the loft each with a glass of wine in their hands. Rick noticed that his wife was staring off into the empty space of the loft.

"What's going on in the head of yours, Kate?"

"Just trying to wrap my mind around a few things."

"Such as?" Rick inquired.

"As in how much things have changed over the years." Kate answered.

Rick knew exactly what Kate was getting at. Things had in fact changed a lot over the years. All four of kids were out on their own and they were adults, but to Rick they were still his little girls and his little boys. They always would be, nothing would change that. Rick knew that Kate was thinking just as he was.

"It seems like we were just chasing Lily and the boys to the dining table for a meal and that Alexis was working P.I. cases with Hayley out of your office."

"I know but it is good that things have changed. If they hadn't then we wouldn't have our granddaughter or son in law let alone the son in law, we'll have before long." Rick commented.

Kate nodded. "That's true."

The two of them stayed up a bit longer to finish off their wine before they went up to bed.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: The idea for this chapter came to me the other night when I came to the realization that I've been slightly obsessed with the country son that is used in this chapter, although with the help of Torontosun the original idea morphed into what is below this author's note. Hope you all like what I have done for this chapter.

* * *

Chapter Fifteen

One evening after everyone had turned in for the night following the commute to the family's home in the Hamptons; Rick had an "aha" moment, an epiphany if you will due to a conversation he and Kate had on their way over to the Hamptons house about Kate thinking of the two of them growing old together considering everything that happened in recent weeks. One that brought a certain song by country artist; Randy Travis, to his line of thinking that night.

"What are you doing, babe?" Kate asked as Rick fumbled around with some things.

"You'll see in a minute or two." Rick replied.

There was a bit of concern on Kate's face which Rick noticed.

"Trust me; Kate, it will be fine. I promise." Rick said trying to ease the uncertainty.

Shortly after that, a melody of guitars and others instruments played together in unison. A few minutes later a country crooner's voice joined the instruments. The country crooner was none other than Randy Travis and the song was a hit for him back in 1987. Rick sang along with Randy Travis.

 _You may think that I'm talking foolish  
You've heard that I'm wild and I'm free  
You may wonder how I can promise you now  
This love, that I feel for you, always will be_

 _You're not just time that I'm killing_  
 _I'm no longer one of those guys_  
 _As sure as I live this love that I give_  
 _Is gonna be yours until the day that I die – oh, baby_

Kate smiled, laughed and shook her head. In all their years together; both as professional partners/friends and then eventually as a married couple, Rick always knew what to do to make her smile.

"Do you know how ridiculous you look right now?" Kate asked.

Rick nodded as he continued on with the song.

 _I'm gonna love you forever, forever and ever, amen  
As long as old men sit and talk about the weather  
As long as old women sit and talk about old men_

 _If you wonder how long I'll be faithful  
I'll be happy to tell you again  
I'm gonna love you forever and ever, forever and ever, amen_

"You're such a card, babe."

Rick chuckled before he continued.

 _They say that time takes it's toll on a body  
Makes the young girls brown hair turn grey  
But honey, I don't care, I ain't in love with your hair  
And if it all fell out, well, I'd love you anyway_

 _They say that time can play tricks on a memory,_  
 _make people forget things they knew._  
 _Well, it's easy to see it's happening to me_  
 _I've already forgotten every woman but you – oh, darling_

"Oh really?"

Rick knew that Kate was going respond the way that she did before he had even uttered the lyrics.

 _I'm gonna love you forever, forever and ever, amen  
As long as old men sit and talk about the weather_

 _As long as old women sit and talk about old men_

 _If you wonder how long I'll be faithful_  
 _well, just listen to how this song ends_  
 _I'm gonna love you forever and ever, forever and ever, amen_  
 _I'm gonna love you forever and ever, forever and ever, forever and ever, forever and ever, amen_

"Does that help reassure you any?" Rick asked as turned off the device that had played the song for them.

"Always." Kate replied.

It was Rick's turn to be the one to smile.

"Always."

A short while later, the NYPD Homicide Captain and the Mystery Writer turned for the night like their family had earlier in the night.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

It was time for Hallie Rose's "Welcome to the World" party in the Hamptons. This would be the first of what would be many parties Hallie Rose would have or attend in the Hamptons. When guest of honor woke up that morning; she had been quite happy to see her Aunt and Uncles came into her line of sight. Hallie Rose responded to the sight of her Aunt and Uncles in the typical baby fashion by cooing and babbling.

"I guess she thought that you guys must have left or something." Alexis said to her siblings.

Lily and the boys smiled in response. Much like their parents; Lily, Jake and Reece weren't fully awake until they had at least one cup of coffee in them. So, Alexis handed Hallie Rose over to Jack so she could get her siblings some coffee. Within seconds of being handed over to her Dad; Hallie Rose fussed in his arms.

"I think she wants one of you to hold her instead of me." Jack commented.

"She'll have to wait." Alexis replied.

The four Castle kids and Jack were then joined by Rick and Kate. Hallie Rose was just as thrilled to see her grandparents as she had been to see her Aunt and Uncles. Now Hallie Rose wanted to go to one of her grandparents which Alexis okayed since she knew they were good when it came to holding babies whether they were caffeinated or not. With the okay from his wife; Jack gave his daughter to his in-laws, specifically his mother in law.

"Are you ready to party?" Kate asked her step-granddaughter.

Hallie Rose cooed in response.

"Of course, she is ready to party, she does have Castle blood in her." Rick said.

After that the family were joined by the rest of the family and they all spent time together before they got ready for the party.

Not too long after the family bonding, the party was underway. When it was time for Hallie Rose to be introduced to the guests, more like introduced to the guests that didn't meet her the day she was born; the four proud grandparents assembled near the backyard porch where Rick picked up a microphone.

The backyard went silent when they noticed the quartet up front and the proud parents were standing off to the side near the main house with their little one.

"We'd like to announce to the newest addition to both of our families…."

With that; Alexis, Jack and Hallie Rose came to the front with the proud grandparents.

"Our daughter; Hallie Rose Castle - McIntyre." Alexis and Jack said in unison as Rick held the microphone in front of them for them to talk into.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

Early the next morning; there was a lot hustle and bustle going on in the Castles' Hamptons home. The only ones that were left in the dark were Lily, Jake, Reece and Nicholas Javier. By the time that Lily, the boys and Nicholas Javier came downstairs: the rest of the Castle family was there waiting for them.

"Shouldn't we get going? It is a long drive back to the precinct." Jake said putting a voice to the looks of bewilderment that graced his face as well as the other three's faces.

There was a knock at the front door to which Jack went to answer.

"We're good here, we don't have to leave." Kate said.

The puzzled looks still occupied the faces they had been occupying for some time now.

"And why's that?" Lily asked as her future in laws walked into the house for the second time in twenty-four hours.

Javi, Tori, along with their son; Michael and their daughter, Natalie were in tow too. Lanie was there too with Robin; their son, Dean and their daughter, Natasha. Over the years, the kids of the Twelfth Precinct's Captain, Sargent, Detective and Medical Examiner had become quite close since they were the only ones who really knew what it meant to be a precinct kid. Not that Alexis didn't know what it was like, but she wasn't a full-fledged precinct kid like the others were but they still considered her to be one.

As the others came into the house, Jack got the stereo to play some light music in the background while Martha got drinks for everyone.

"There's no accommodation for me, it was all a ruse." Rick replied.

"Then what is this?"

"It's an engagement party." Jenny answered her son.

The puzzled looks disappeared. As a somewhat relaxed look dawned Jake, Nicholas Javier and Reece's faces. Fear along with worry came to Lily's.

"Oh darling; it's not a secret anymore. We all know."

Lily waited a second or two just to get a sense of how everyone felt about her impending wedding. The bride to be and groom to be were instantly enveloped in numerous hugs before a toast was given in their honor.

During the small, intimate engagement party; the wedding planning was set into play over the drinks that Martha had gotten and served to everyone.

"So, who's in the bridal party?" Sarah Grace inquired.

"Well we want the bridal party to be a family affair."

"What does that mean?" Natalie asked.

"It means that I would like to have my future brother in laws, Michael and Dean as my groomsmen." Nicholas Javier answered.

"And you, Lil?" Natasha questioned.

"Well…."

"Spit it out, kiddo."

"I would like to have my future sister in law, Alexis, Natalie and you as my bridesmaids." Lily replied.

"All ten precinct kids together celebrating the perfect pair."

With that the engagement party went on until it was time to call it a day. By the time that tomorrow rolled around, there would be a lot of traveling done for everyone that was the Hamptons house.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

After it had been revealed to Lily and Nicholas Javier that their families had known all along that they were engaged, life for everyone returned to normal. Whatever normal was for everyone. Before Lily and Nicholas Javier returned to California, Lily made plans to go wedding dress shopping with her mother, sister, niece, grandmother, step-grandmother, mother in law to be and sister in law to be in a few days. Just as Rick had paid for Alexis's wedding dress, so he offered to pay for the dress that Lily would choose. Lily had a multitude of options when it came to wedding dresses much like her sister had.

Back when Alexis and Jack had first gotten engaged; there was an offer put before Alexis. Meredith, Rita, Kate and Martha had all offered up their respective wedding dresses to Alexis. The other thing that was offered to Alexis back then were Martha's sapphire drop earrings, the same ones that Martha had bestowed upon Kate just before Rick disappeared for two months on his way to the Hamptons for what was Rick and Kate's first attempt down the aisle for their own wedding. Of course, the sapphire drop earrings were also offered up to Lily.

 _They were given to me by my mother to wear on my wedding day and by her mother before. Only women of substance have worn these gems…_

On one evening, there was some similarity occurring amongst the couples. In New York, Rick and Kate were enjoying each other's company along with some wine while they settle in for the night. The same was happening to a degree with Alexis and Jack for the obvious reasons. Over at Jake's, Jake had Grace laying against him each of them had a tumbler just about half full with some wine. The same went for Reece and Audrey down in Tuscaloosa at Reece's. Lily and Nicholas Javier were following suit at her place at Stanford.

It was safe to say that the apples didn't fall far from the trees so to speak.

"So, what are you going to do for your wedding dress?" Nicholas Javier asked.

"I'm not sure, there's too many options."

"Would you like my opinion on the whole situation?"

"Sure, why not."

"As nice and sweet as it is that your mom, my mom, Martha and Rita all offered their respective dresses to you for the wedding; I think that it would be nice to see you come down the aisle in your own dress that day." Nicholas Javier said.

"Okay, then that's what I'll do." Lily replied.

Nicholas Javier could tell as his fiancé was still mulling over the dress situation. They both knew that both of their mothers along with Lily's grandmother and step-grandmother would have their respective wedding dresses with them when they arrived in a few days' time. As Lily relaxed with her fiancé, she pictured herself in her mind in each of the dresses that her loved ones were bringing with them.


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: The long awaited nineteenth chapter of the story, sorry it took so long to post again but the inspiration comes and goes. This chapter is my Valentine's Day chapter since Valentine's Day was a mere four days ago. Happy Valentine's Day everyone.

* * *

Chapter Nineteen

The weeks had come to pass and it was now Valentine's Day. Jackson, Rita and Martha had volunteered to look after their great-granddaughter so Alexis and Jack could have a romantic night out. Neither Jackson, Rita or Martha had plans for Valentine's Day so they were the perfect candidates for the job so to speak. The rest of the family all had plans for the holiday. Rick had the whole night planned for him and Kate, starting with a romantic dinner for two at Talia's Steakhouse & Bar.

As for Jack and Alexis; they were having a quiet evening in together. Their daughter was over at the loft with all three of her great-grandparents. It was their first night alone since Hallie Rose was born. Jack planned to take Alexis to Serendipity for desert after dinner that night.

Over in California; Nicholas Javier was taking Lily to dinner Zola. Jake was taking Grace to The Peacock Inn while his twin; Reece was taking his girl to Iguana Grill. It was safe to say that it was good be young and in love.

Back in New York; Rick had whisked his beautiful wife away from the precinct for their romantic Valentine's Day dinner once Kate had changed into a red dress she had bought just few days prior to the holiday.

"Absolutely ravishing." Rick said when he saw his wife after she had changed.

In a matter of second; Rick had Kate blushing as they shared a kiss.

"Happy Valentine's Day, babe." Kate said once they had separated.

Rick smiled. "Happy Valentine's Day, my love."

With that; the duo said goodbye to their respective parents and their granddaughter.

"Have fun, kids." Martha called after her son and daughter in law.

It wasn't long before Rick and Kate were at the restaurant.

"Can I help you?" the hostess asked.

"Yes; we have a reservation." Rick replied.

"What's the name?"

"Castle, Richard Castle."

The hostess checked off the reservation before she showed Rick and Kate to their table.

"Your server will be with you in a moment."

With that the hostess left them to peruse the menus she hd left with them.

Miles away in Montclair; Jack was making a nice romantic dinner for Alexis and himself.

"This is really sweet of you to do all of this." Alexis commented while Jack cooked.

"When it comes to you; Lex, I would move heaven and earth for you."

"Aww, sweetie."

With that; Jack poured Alexis some soda to drink. Instantly there was a smile on Alexis' face.

"Is it me or is it just really weird not having Hallie Rose here with us?" Alexis inquired after she took a sip of her soda.

"It's not just you, but she's in good hands."

Alexis nodded.

Across the country, Nicholas Javier was picking Lily up for their Valentine's Day dinner.

Somewhat channeling her mom on the day that her parents finally got married all those years ago; Lily uttered the same word Kate had.

"It's perfect."

Like everyone else; Nicholas Javier could see how much of his Dad's boss was in his fiancée.

"What is it?" Lily asked.

"Oh nothing, just noticing something everyone else already noticed."

The duo ordered. In Princeton and Tuscaloosa, the Castle boys were treating their respective girlfriends to dinner which they all enjoyed. Of course; Nicholas Javier, Jake, Reece and Jack all had post dinner plans for the loves of their lives. For the future Mrs. Nicholas Javier; the post dinner activity was a stop at the beach before going home. The boys were taking their girls out for ice cream. Jack would put in a movie of his wife's choosing for them to cozy up together to watch much like they did on their first date. But Rick hd the best post dinner plan of all.

Back in New York, Rick and Kate's evening was coming to an end. Rick had gotten them a suite at the Four Seasons. But before they had ended their night at the Four Seasons, they had one stop to make first.

"Babe, it's getting late; where are, we going at this hour?" Kate asked.

"You'll see soon enough."

With that said, Rick brought his beautiful wife of many years to their park swings. Kate cautiously watched Rick's every move from the second they got to the swings. Once Kate sat down on her park swing she saw Rick got down on one knee.

"What are you doing?" Kate asked even though she had a pretty good idea of what Rick was doing.

"Katherine Houghton Beckett - Castle…. will you marry me?" Rick posed.

"I've already said yes…." Kate answered as she held her hand up to show her rings to Rick.

"Will you marry me again?"

Once again, all Kate did to give Rick her answer was to smile a broad smile just like she did when he asked her to marry her after they had closed the Gensler case just before they eloped in the Hamptons with Martha, Jim and Alexis in attendance besides the officiant.

Now there was a wedding and a vow renewal in the works for the Castles.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

Once the holiday had passed; it was time for the excursion out to California for Kate, Martha, Rita, Jenny, Alexis and Sarah Grace. All of the wedding dresses were in tow just as it was expected. Rick paid for the flight out to California for the ladies. Natasha and Natalie would get to see the wedding dress when she flew back to New York to keep planning the wedding. Both Natasha and Natalie had prior engagements with their respective families so they were unable to fly out to California with the others unfortunately.

Nicholas Javier was spending the day studying at the on-campus library after he had seen everyone. With the groom to be off at the library; Lily and the others had enough room to move about when it came to the task before them. Kate, Martha and Alexis had made sure that they brought Martha's earrings that Martha had lent to Alexis and Kate on their respective wedding days so Lily could see what everything looked like together.

First up was the wedding dress of Lily's late maternal grandmother; Johanna. Lily had her brown hair pulled back in a messy bun, a pair of white heels and Martha's earrings on so that everyone could get the full effect of the whole look with wedding ensemble.

"Is everyone ready out there?" Lily called from her bedroom.

Instantly the response of yes came from the group in unison from the lounge.

"Alright, here I come."

With that, Lily made her way to where the others were. When Lily came into view the lounge when completely silent as they took in the sight before them. Out of everyone there; the sight of Lily in Johann's wedding dress struck Kate to her core. It was obvious to Martha and Alexis knew why Kate reacted the way she did. In an instant; Alexis took her step-mother's hand in hers to nonverbally calm her while Martha leaned over to whisper into her daughter in law's ear.

"She'd be just as happy to see her granddaughter in her dress as you are to see your daughter in her dress, kiddo."

Kate nodded in response.

Lily was looking for one opinion in the moment and that opinion was her mother's.

"Well Mom, what do you think?" Lily inquired.

"You're absolutely beautiful."

After that; Lily tried on the other dresses before they all went out to the bridal shops to dress shop. By the end of the day a decision had been made when it came to the dress that Lily was going to wear at her wedding.

"So, it's a yes to Johanna's dress, kiddo?" Martha asked.

"Yes, it is." Lily replied.

Tears of joy streamed out of Kate's eyes as she clapped with the others.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty - One

Hours after Lily had made her decision on the wedding dress and everyone went back to their hotel, Lily tried on her late grandmother's wedding dress on one more time. Like her brothers, Lily had grown up knowing the whole story behind Johanna's untimely death and everything that their/her parents had gone through to put it all to bed finally. Little did Lily know, but her fiancée had decided to drop by.

"Hey; Lil, where are you?" Nicholas Javier called once he was in Lily's place.

"In here." Lily answered.

Nicholas Javier then made his way to where Lily was. Once Lily had made her choice, she let Nicholas Javier know.

"Whoa! Why didn't you tell you are wearing the dress again?"

"The thought never crossed my mind." Lily said innocently.

"Mhmm sure; guess you forgot the whole bad luck/groom/wedding dress superstition…"

"Nope I didn't." Lily replied.

"Then what?"

"I blatantly decided to ignore it, love."

"You do know that we're gonna have bad luck when it comes to our wedding." Nicholas Javier commented.

"Uhmm, have you met my parents recently? They had the ultimate bad luck; my Dad getting ran off of the road on his way to the Hamptons House for their wedding once Mom's divorce was finalized only to have disappeared for two months before being found by the Coast Guard?"

"I know all of that and all of the stories just like you do."

"Okay then put all of those worries and superstitions of yours to bed, we'll be fine."

"Famous last words." Nicholas Javier said.

With that, Lily went to change out of the wedding dress and into pajamas before she rejoined her fiancée in the lounge for a movie.

While he waited for Lily to come out, Nicholas Javier thought over what Lily had said before she left him to change. He knew that Lily was right, there was no way that they could have the same misfortune that Rick and Kate had or worse than what they had.

Nicholas Javier just hoped with every fiber of his being that they would only have one attempt down the aisle that would be successful like his parents and not two trips down the aisle like her parents. But of course, only time would tell him what they would get and if what had just transpired would parley into bad luck for their future together.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

Everything was back to normal for the most part after Kate returned home from her trip out to California. While Kate was out in California; Jake and Reece found out they could do a semester of their college careers abroad. Once they had found out; they went right to the person who held the purse strings in the family, good ol' Dad. When his sons had come to him with the study abroad programs that both of their colleges offered; Rick deferred discussing it until Kate was home. When it came to Lily and the boys; Rick and Kate worked together as a team.

So, when the opportunity presented itself; Rick and the boys lowered the proverbial studying abroad bomb on Kate. When she first heard of her sons wanting to go study in Europe, Kate had to think it all over since it had just been thrown at her. The boys wanted an answer instantly but they knew that it would take a while to get one. Rick and Kate discussed everything pertaining to their sons going over to Europe to their respective colleges' campuses in Italy. The boys went about other things while they waited.

Kate and Rick had gone into Rick's home office to talk things over.

"So, what are you thinking?" Rick inquired.

"I don't know. This is happening really fast. Lily is getting married, Alexis just had Hallie Rose and now the boys want to study over in Italy." Kate responded.

"Yes, I know of all of this."

"They seem to really want this."

"They do."

"But I'm going to miss them…"

"I know you will."

"And I know what you're going to say. Jake and Reece have to do this. That this is a once in a life time opportunity."

"It would only be fair to let them go since Lily and Alexis studied abroad."

"Yes, it is only fair."

With that, Rick and Kate discussed the subject matter for a bit longer. Once they had exhausted every possible point in their discussion; Rick and Kate went to tell their sons what they had decided.

Jake was the first to see their prints emerge from the other room. Once he saw them, he nudged his twin.

"So, what did you guys decide?" Reece asked.

"Yeah the suspense is killing us." Jake said.

For dramatic effect, Rick and Kate drew the whole giving their sons their answer. When they saw that it was starting to bother the boys; they knew it was time to tell them. The boys were beyond thrilled that they were going to Italy.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three

Once the twins had gotten the all clear to study over in Italy, they started to get things rolling when it came to signing up for classes and the other paper work that was required for them to study abroad. They wouldn't fly out to Italy until Lily and Nicholas Javier were married and the vow renewal for their parents happened. For now, they were looking through the course catalogue that the Italian campuses for both of their colleges offered.

Over in his dorm at Princeton University; Jake was clicking through the course catalogue on his computer when there was a knock on his dorm room door.

"It's open." Jake called.

Shortly after he had responded to the knock; the door opened to reveal Grace, who was now making her way into the room. Jake could tell that Grace wasn't in the best of moods when she came into his dorm. Grace situated herself next to Jake on his bed once she was inside the room.

"What's going on?" Jake asked.

"You know what's going on…" Grace replied with one look to Jake's computer.

A second later, Jake connected the dots.

"You don't want me to go study in Italy?"

"Exactly."

"Why?"

"You know why."

Both Grace and Audrey were in the line of thinking. Neither of them could go study in Italy since they couldn't afford it like their respective boyfriend could. They weren't looking forward to saying goodbye to their respective boyfriend at the airport when the time came. It was the one thing Grace and Audrey talked about since the subject came up.

"You know as well as I do that we will be able to talk to each other when I'm over there. We'll talk everyday if you want. Things between us aren't going to change just because I'm going to study in Italy and you're staying here. The same goes for Ree and Aud." Jake said reassuringly.

There was one of those awkward silences between Jake and Grace. The silence didn't last long, Jake's roommate; Billy Ramos, came into the dorm room the two of them shared.

"Oh; sorry. I didn't know that you had company, bro." Billy said as he dropped his backpack on his bed.

"It's alright; we were just talking."

Billy nodded in acknowledgement.

"It's good to see you again; Grace." Billy commented.

"Good to see you too, Billy."

After that; Billy emptied his backpack and started to work on the ever-growing pile of homework he had been given by his professors while Jake and Grace went back to spending time together. While Jake had the conversation with Grace about him going to study over in Italy and Grace voiced her concerns; the same conversation occurred down in Reece's dorm down in Tuscaloosa at his college, of course minus the roommate coming into the room since Reece was the R.A. for his floor of the dorm hall he resided in.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty - Four

"I do believe that I've got the perfect song for our first dance as husband and wife." Lily said.

Nicholas Javier had come over to Lily's so they could work on things for their impending wedding since they both had some free time at the moment. The game plan for today was to choose a song for their first dance together once they tied the knot, then they had to choose what they liked when it came to wedding invites and save the date cards.

"Okay what's the song?" Nicholas Javier asked.

"God, Your Mama, And Me by Florida Georgia Line featuring The Backstreet Boys."

"Can you play it for me once so I can see if I remember it?"

Lily nodded yes as she hit play.

 _That Sunday morning choir calling, church doors open wide  
That hallelujah shoot right through ya, make you feel alive  
That key under the mat, you know right where it's at  
It's waiting with the porch light on  
Don't bother calling, no need for knocking, just come on home  
Come on home, my love is_

 _Never gonna run dry, never gonna come up empty  
Now until the day I die, unconditionally  
You know I'm always gonna be here for ya  
No one's ever gonna love you more than  
God, your mama, and me  
God, your mama, and me  
Unconditionally  
God, your mama, and me_

 _Loud as shotgun, angels singing with the radio  
Praying with you every mile down any dead end road  
You can tell me every secret that you been keeping  
I'll hold it, lock and key  
Up with you all night, holding you all night, I never leave  
You better believe my love is_

 _Never gonna run dry, never gonna come up empty  
Now until the day I die, unconditionally  
You know I'm always gonna be here for ya  
No one's ever gonna love you more than  
God, your mama, and me  
God, your mama, and me  
Unconditionally  
God, your mama, and me_

 _Loud as shotgun, angels singing with the radio  
Praying with you every mile down any dead end road  
You can tell me every secret that you been keeping  
I'll hold it, lock and key  
Up with you all night, holding you all night, I never leave  
You better believe my love is_

 _Never gonna run dry, never gonna come up empty  
Now until the day I die, unconditionally  
You know I'm always gonna be here for ya  
No one's ever gonna love you more than  
God, your mama, and me  
God, your mama, and me  
Unconditionally  
God, your mama, and me_

 _You better believe it, you better believe it  
Every step you take, I'll be as sure as your shadow  
Every move you make, you know I'm part of you wherever you go  
Baby, you know my love is_

 _Never gonna run dry, never gonna come up empty  
Now until the day I die, unconditionally  
You know I'm always gonna be here for ya  
No one's ever gonna love you more than  
God, your mama, and me  
God, your mama, and me  
Unconditionally  
God, your mama, and me_

 _God, your mama, and me  
God, your mama, and me  
Unconditionally  
God, your mama, and me_

"Well?" Lily asked.

"Very good choice."

"Next…"

With that the duo sorted through invites and save the date cards for a while before they decided on what they liked. The invites were set aside for the time being. Lily and Nicholas Javier went about sending out the save the date cards. The save the date cards were dark teal in color emulating the night sky with a tree that was decked out in white twinkle lights and fireflies flying around glass mason jars with their own lights lit. It was clear to everyone that knew the bride and groom were into the whole laid back, country lifestyle so the save the date cards were quite fitting for them.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty - Five

"So, what are we doing for a wedding gift for our daughter and our soon to be son in law?" Kate asked one evening as she and Rick relaxed together in the living room.

As per usual another homicide had come to them and the boys at the precinct. After a few days, the case had been resolved which led the mystery writer and his muse to their favorite post case tradition of relaxing together on the couch with their respective glasses of wine nearby.

"I don't know yet." Rick answered.

"Well we did get Alexis and Jack their first apartment together so it would only be fair to do the same for Lily and Nicholas Javier."

"True."

"We just have to find out where they want to put down their roots."

"That we do." Rick agreed.

"Okay so the next time we talk to them or see them; you can find that out since you hold the purse strings…Mr. Beckett." Kate playfully teased.

Once again; Rick made the same face he made when Kate had first called him _Mr. Beckett_ at the start of the Williams homicide which eventually lead them to their impromptu honeymoon at Diamondback Old West Ranch all those years ago.

"I do love seeing that face." Kate commented as she took a sip of her wine.

"At least you're having fun."

After that; there was a pause in their conversation.

"Lily said that they picked a song for their first dance together."

"What did they choose?" Rick asked.

"God, Your Mama, And Me by Florida Georgia Line featuring The Backstreet Boys."

"Ah. That fits them perfectly."

"Do you remember our song, babe?"

With that Rick rattled off a few songs in attempt to bait Kate as his way of playfully getting back at her for calling him _Mr. Beckett_ before. Eventually he opted to stop poking the bear, so that the bear didn't pull her side arm on him.

"I do believe it was this…" Rick said as he played _In My Veins_ by Andrew Belle featuring Erin McCarley.

Just as the song started; Rick stood up and pulled his beautiful bride of many, many years to her feet and dimmed the lights in the living room. With the music playing and the romantic atmosphere Rick and Kate escaped reality as they danced to their song just as they did the day that they got married in the Hamptons all those years ago, with their family surrounding them.

Rick saw the joy in his wife's eyes as they shared a meaningful look.

"I know what you're thinking; Kate… It's perfect."

A smile danced across Kate's face when she picked up on the fact that Rick had just quoted what she had said to him when they had danced together for the first time as husband and wife.

"Always…" Kate said in response.

With a smile now on his face, Rick replied. "Always."


	26. Chapter 26

A/N: There is a nod to producers/show runners' Amy Sherman - Palladino and Dan Palladino's smash hit _Gilmore Girls_ in this chapter, let see if you all find. If you know what it is then let me know in your review. I'll reveal what the nod is in an author's note in the next chapter. Enjoy...

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Six

Over in Montclair; things had just about settled down for Alexis and Jack once they had put Hallie Rose to bed for the night. When they knew for sure that their daughter down for the night, they had grabbed one of the baby monitors to bring with them into the living room with them. Now Alexis and Jack's nightly decompressing routine was obviously different than Kate and Rick's

"We got the save the date card for my sister and Nicholas Javier's wedding." Alexis said as they got settled on the couch with their favorite streaming service queuing up so they could choose what they were going to watch before they turned in for the night themselves.

"Oh, we did; did we…" Jack said in response.

Alexis nodded a yes.

"So, what date are we saving?" Jack asked.

"Take a look for yourself."

With that Alexis handed the save the date card to her husband.

Once the save the date card was in hand, Jack perused it.

"June 3rd…"

"Yes, June 3rd."

A few days later; Alexis had the day off from working at her Dad's private investigator's office so she decided that it was time to go out clothes shopping for Lily's impending wedding.

"Are you ready to go pick out a dress and shoes for Aunt Lily's wedding; Hals?" Alexis asked her daughter as they left the house to head out.

Hallie Rose babbled in response.

"Well then, let's go."

With that; Alexis and Hallie Rose made their way to the local department store for their shopping excursion.

A little while into the shopping trip; Alexis had taken a few pictures of Hallie Rose in a few outfits and sent them to everyone to get their take on the outfits since she had a hard time choosing. By lunch time that day, Hallie Rose had an outfit for Lily's wedding. That only left a shopping trip for Jack to handle before June 3rd came around.

Before heading home for the day; Alexis and Hallie Rose stopped at the precinct so that Hallie Rose could model her outfit for her grandparents and the boys. It wasn't too long into their visit that Hallie Rose was the center of attention. Eventually Hallie Rose started to get fussy so it was time to call it a day, Rick and Kate begrudgingly said goodbye to the girls but they understood completely and promised to talk to Alexis later. Shortly after leaving the precinct; Alexis and Hallie Rose were back home.


	27. Chapter 27

A/N1: So sorry that it has been a long time since the last update and this one. I just couldn't find any sort of inspiration to write and real life happened. I'll try to get better at posting new chapters. I may get a bit distracted since I have another fanfiction that I am in the middle of writing and I just got a new book that was released/published today so I'll be distracted by that too.

A/N2: As promised in the Author's Note from the previous chapter; even though no one guessed what the reference/nod to _Gilmore Girls_ was, I will reveal what it is in this Author's Note. The reference/nod to _Gilmore Girls_ is the day that I have Lily and Nicholas Javier getting married; June 3rd, this day is the day that Lauren Graham's Lorelai Gilmore and Scott Patterson's Luke Danes were going to get married in the show's original seven year run and if I recall correctly when they FINALLY got married in _Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life_ from November 2016.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Seven

With June 3rd, still months away and the planning for it was still in the works; Kate and Rick seized the opportunity to renew their vows. Like their first wedding; the renewal was taking place at the Hamptons house. Even Lily and Nicholas Javier's wedding and reception was taking place at the Hamptons house. In fact the vow renewal was less than twenty-four hours away.

Rick had gone to the Hamptons house with all of the guys for a bachelor party which would consist of the guys playing poker and some beers for those who inclined to and were of legal age to. For those who didn't fit either criteria; there was soda and other beverages.

Kate stayed back in the city partially due to work, but also to keep to the tradition of not seeing the bride before the wedding. When Kate came home from work, her bachelorette party would be under way. Of course, Kate would need a few minutes to change before they all went out for the night.

For Kate's bachelorette party, the collective was going out to a club. Alexis' in laws were looking after their granddaughter on this particular night. The collective waited in line outside of the New York nightclub they had gone to for what seemed like a short amount of time before they got to main entrance where the club bouncer was stationed.

"It's eighteen and older." The bouncer said in regard to Lily who had been standing in between her mother and her sister.

"She's over eighteen." Kate said.

"I'm in my twenties, see…" Lily said as she showed the bouncer her New York driver's license which showed her date of birth.

"Okay, go ahead."

When Martha got to the bouncer and the entrance, she leaned in a bit to say something to the bouncer who was many, many, many years younger than she was.

"Feel free to check my id or anything else you want…" Martha said.

It was then that Martha's granddaughters looked behind them to see if Martha was with them or not. In one mere nano second both Lily and Alexis knew what their grandmother was up to.

"Come on, Grams; there's other people waiting to get in to the club." The girls said in unison.

Kate smiled as she overheard what her daughter and step-daughter had said to her mother in law. Shortly after her granddaughters had called her, Martha rejoined the group before they found a place to sit at.

Once their drink orders had been taken; it had sunk in that Kate now had a daughter of her own that legally able to drink had completely flabbergasted Kate on a good day. After all it seemed like just yesterday to Kate; that it was just her, Rick and Lily spending a Sunday afternoon together. But now Lily was all grown up, getting married a few months' time and the long ago Sunday afternoons of family time was a thing of the past.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Several mornings later nearly three thousand miles across the country from where her parents were; Lily was standing in front of the mirror over the bathroom sink in her college dwellings while Nicholas Javier was still in bed fast asleep. The soon to be wed couple had decided to spend the night together at least once before their wedding night so that there wouldn't be any surprises. As the young twenty-something looked at the sight before her; one thought came to mind.

She was no Katherine Beckett…or Nikki Heat for that matter but she was at least part of Katherine Beckett. And what she wore was definitely not a white button down shirt like the one her mother wore the morning after her mother and father first got together all those years ago. Lily went the simple route when it came to the post coitus attire. Lily had decided to sport one of her many New York Yankees shirts with the last name of one of the players on the back with his numbers and of course the famous NY insignia that everyone who followed the sport knew was for the Yankees.

In that moment; Lily heard her fiancé stirring in the next room. It was then that Lily deduced that it was time. So, with that the young twenty-something sauntered back to where she had left the love of her life.

"So, it wasn't a dream…" Nicholas Javier said as Lily joined.

"No, you definitely weren't dreaming."

"That was….."

"Earth shattering. Mind blowing." Lily said finishing Nicholas Javier's sentence for him.

"Out of this world amazing, Lils."

Lily smiled before her next thought was verbalized.

"So, what do you want to do today?" Lily asked.

"I don't know. We both have the day off."

"We could read…."

"Or we could watch tv."

"We could watch something online."

"Maybe we could listen to music."

"There's always going for a walk or window shopping for what we'll need for our own place."

"We could get something to eat."

Nicholas Javier could see the wheels turning in Lily's mind just as Rick saw the wheels turning in Kate's mind years ago.

And then it was just as instantaneous as it had been with her mother.

"We could always go for a round….two." Lily said seductively.

"Well technically speaking it would be round six."

Shortly thereafter; the lovebirds had decided how they wanted to spend their day.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter Twenty-Nine

It was a rainy New York kind of day, Rick was looking after his granddaughter for Alexis and Jack so they could go to work. Much like Kate; Rick enjoyed spending time with Hallie Rose, after all it has been quite some time since they had little ones in the loft. Once Jake and Reece came along; they were done. Rick had his quartet; two boys and two girls. Kate had her trio plus Alexis.

Rick hadn't been to his P.I. office in weeks since he had been spending time at the precinct with Kate and the others. And since that was case; Alexis had to go in to make sure the office was still standing so to speak. When Alexis and Jack dropped off their daughter with Rick that morning; Hallie Rose was fast asleep in her car seat. The munchkin had fallen asleep in the car as she rode in the back of her parents' car as they made their way to the loft.

While his granddaughter slept away in her car seat after being dropped off and the rain continued to fall outside; Rick started to plan a co-engagement party that he and Kate would share with Lily and Nicholas Javier. Just as Rick started to figure out whether it was better to have the party at the house in the Hamptons or on one of the many rooftops in the city; Hallie Rose woke. Hearing the cries of his granddaughter; Rick knew that she wasn't sure why she was where she was and that was why she was crying.

"It's okay; Hallie, Grandpa is here." Rick said as he unbuckled and picked up Hallie Rose.

Even after being taken out of car seat; Hallie Rose was still a bit fussy.

"Don't worry, sweetie; it's alright. Your mom and dad will be here to pick you up tonight. Until then you get to hang out with your fun Grandpa for a while before Grandma Kate gets back from work."

With that, it seemed that Hallie Rose to have settled down and adoringly looked up at Rick from his arms.

"You want to know what I was working on before you woke up; kiddo?" Rick asked his granddaughter.

Hallie Rose babbled back in response. Rick then made his way back to the other side of his desk with Hallie Rose in his arms.

"I was planning an engagement party for your Aunt Lily and Uncle Nick to have with Grandma Kate and me."

Hallie Rose just kept looking at Rick while he kept talking, little did either one of them know but while Rick talked Kate had come home from work to change out of her wet clothes after she had chased down a suspect. Kate was watching her husband and granddaughter from afar after she had changed. As she watched and listened; a smile came to her face as the sight before her reminded Kate of all the times in the past that Rick had these one on one conversations with their three kids in the past.

"An engagement party for us to share with our daughter and son in law to be; really babe?" Kate questioned.

After Kate had made her presence known, Rick look up at her as she made her way to him and Hallie Rose. Once she was within inches of her husband and granddaughter; Kate extended her arms so she could hold Hallie Rose. Rick complied and handed over Hallie Rose to Kate.

"We both know that the party is for Lily and Nicholas Javier; don't we Hallie. Grandpa can't hoodwink us." Kate said.

It was then that Kate and Rick shared a knowing look with the smile they shared.


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter Thirty

A few days after Kate had walked in on her husband telling their granddaughter about the double engagement party he was planning, was in the process of happening. After some input from Kate, Lily and Nicholas Javier; Rick had decided to have the engagement party on the many New York rooftops and he had opted to have it catered. With the sun setting over the Manhattan skyline and there was an on-going strand of illuminated incandescent lightbulbs encapsulating the rooftop where the party was being held.

Rick, Kate, Lily and Nicholas Javier mingled with their guests. Of course; Rick was only a matter of a few feet of his wife as she stood with some guests. Kate's back was inches away from Lily's. Much like Rick; Nicholas Javier wasn't that far away from Lily. Now Nicholas Javier was still getting use to how similar his fiancé was to her mother. Rick and the rest of the Castle family on the other hand were used to Lily being Kate's doppelganger.

At one point; both Rick and Nicholas Javier took a break from their respective conversations to watch their respective significant other from a distance with a great deal of adoration for both ladies.

"They're amazing women. If Lily is anything like Kate, then you will definitely be kept on your toes every single day of your marriage." Rick said.

"She already keeps me on my toes; sir."

"Son; I've known you since you were a baby. I was there the day you were born…" Rick started to trail off.

It was as Rick trailed off in his sentence that he recalled the day that Nicholas Javier had come into the world. Rick had been as Kate had said, obsessing over genies and if a woman he had encountered many times throughout the case was a genie herself just like Barbara Eden for the last five years of the nineteen sixties. Kate, Rick, Lanie and Javi still remembered quite well when they got the call from Kevin that there had been a complication while Jenny was giving birth to Nicholas Javier. Eventually Nicholas Javier had been born and the complication Jenny had experienced had subsided.

"And you used your last Genie wish to make sure everything went okay when Mom was in labor with me." Nicholas Javier finished.

With that both men continued to stand in their spots at that point as they watched Kate and Lily. Without a doubt; Kate and Lily had the same mannerisms between them. They also carried themselves in the same way.

Midway through the party; Rick, Kate, Kevin and Jenny took to the part of the rooftop where the microphone resided so they could address their guests.

The proud parents of the engaged couple said a few words and then the groom to be's parents joined the guests leaving Rick and Kate at the microphone. Rick said a few words and Kate only interrupted once before she said a few words. After that the party continued on.


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter Thirty-One

Weeks later everyone was together once again. This time it was for Rick and Kate's vow renewal. Lanie, Javi and Kevin were happy that they had been invited to the renewal. Of course, none of them passed up the opportunity to bust on Kate and Rick for leaving them out the first time around all those years ago. Gates was also in attendance with her husband. Others from the precinct were also in attendance.

Much like the first two times around; the renewal was taking place in the backyard of the Hamptons house. Jake, Reece, Jack and Nicholas Javier were at one end of the house with Kevin, Javi and Rick. At the other end of the house; Kate was in one of many other rooms the house contained with Lily, Alexis, Lanie, Hallie Rose and Martha.

"This is perfect. All of it." Kate said.

"Just like the last time." Martha said.

Alexis nodded.

"Well I wouldn't know, I wasn't invited." Lanie chimed in.

During all of this; Lily was cradling her niece in her arms.

"We didn't even exist." Lily said as her gaze went from her niece to the other as she spoke.

The conversation continued for a bit before Sarah Grace came up to tell them that the guests were arriving as was the officiant. Once Sarah Grace had told the ladies what was happening in the backyard, she went to tell the guys before she rejoined her mother and her own husband in the backyard.

"In a few weeks, it will be you getting ready for your own wedding." Kate said to her daughter as Lily had come up behind Kate to check herself in the mirror after she gave Hallie Rose back to Alexis.

"Yeah it's hard to believe."

"I wonder if Dad is ready to give another daughter away." Alexis said.

"He doesn't have much of a choice." Martha chimed in.

It was then that Kate pulled out the earrings that Martha had given her years ago when Kate and Rick first attempted to tie the knot. On Alexis' wedding day; Alexis got the earrings and she had lent them back to Kate for today. Come June 3rd; the earrings would become Lily's. At least until Hallie Rose got married in the very distant future. Before that, there was always the possibility of there being other vow renewals.

It wasn't long after the talk between the ladies of the Castle family that Jim came up to the room to see if they were ready.

"The natives are getting restless down there." Jim said.

"Then its time."

Jim signaled one of his grandsons who had been standing in the doorway of the room that the guys were in to let them know that it was time.

After that; Martha along with her great-granddaughter headed down to the backyard to join the guests. Lily, Alexis and Lanie soon followed. Kate and Jim then took the familiar walk they took many years prior.


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter Thirty-Two

Kate and Rick had a party after their vow renewal that evening. One of the guests were about get the surprise of her life. Grace had thought that she was just going to the vow renewal and party of her boyfriend's parents, she had no other expectations for that day. Jake and Grace had been dating since the end of the fall semester of their freshmen year of college, two years later and she felt at home with her boyfriend's family. Much like they had treated Jack, Nicholas Javier and Audrey as family; they had also treated Grace as family.

Midway through the party; Jake had mustered up enough courage to go up to the DJ to ask him to play a slow song and to give him the microphone. The DJ complied.

"Everyone; can I have your attention please." Jake said.

The guests along with Jake's family turned their attention to Jake just as they were asked to.

"Thank-you. Grace; love, would you mind joining me over here?"

Grace nodded and joined Jake at the center of the dance floor. She could see there was some sort of square shaped bulge in one of Jake's blazer jacket pockets. Grace only assumed that she knew what the square shaped bulge was, she didn't want to get her hopes up though.

"Mom, Dad; sorry to steal your thunder, but this couldn't wait any longer." Jake said apologetically.

Kate and Rick nodded, it was clear to pretty much everyone what Jake had up his sleeve.

"It's alright, son." Rick commented.

"Have your moment; we've had ours, your sisters have had their moments. It's your turn." Kate said.

Jake took the cue his parents were giving him. At that moment as Jake tried to figure out what he was going to say to Grace. While he was trying to put his thoughts together; Jake's relatives both immediate and extended had all cozied up with their respective significant others. Or in the case of the family members that were older than the rest; they had all fondly recalled the moments when they were going through what Jake and Grace were about to.

"What's going on, Jake?" Grace asked.

Jake took a second longer after that.

"Come on, bro; before we get old." Reece commented.

"Any day now little brother." Alexis and Lily said in unison.

"Okay, okay." Jake said after his siblings nudged him along.

Jake took a deep breath as he took Grace's hands in his.

"Grace; my love, we have been together for the past two years and it's been the best two years of my life. The thought of spending the rest of my life without you is one that I don't even want to tread down. Will you do me the honor of being my wife?"

It was in that moment even though she knew it was coming, but Grace was still shocked and surprised by the proposal.

"Grace; will you marry me?" Jake asked again.

Everyone waited for Grace's answer. Now it was Grace's turn to take a deep breath to calm herself before she spoke.

"Yes, Jake Castle; I will marry you." Grace answered as she shared a kiss with her now fiancé.

With that everyone in attendance for the post vow renewal party erupted in congratulatory cheers for the newly engaged couple.


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter Thirty-Three

The school year was over for eight out of the eleven _precinct kids_ as they called themselves was over for the summer. As for the other three kids of the "pks"; they would be done in a few weeks and they would be graduating from high school. Rick and Kate went away for a long weekend after vow renewal, thus leaving their trio and Alexis to their own devices so to speak.

For the most part; Lily was left to her own when it came to the wedding preparations. When she needed the help while her parents were away on their second honeymoon; Lily had gotten help from her sister, Jenny, Lanie, Martha and Rita. While Lily was attempting to nail down some details for her wedding; her younger brothers were piecing things together in their own personal lives. Jake and Grace were trying to set a date for their wedding. Reece was at one of New York's many jewelry stores. Reece had gone to Audrey's Dad to ask for his permission to marry his daughter. Jake had done the same just before he had proposed to Grace. Both Nicholas Javier had gone to Rick and inadvertently asked for his blessing to marry Lily. Jack even had gone to Rick before he had proposed to Alexis.

Reece was having a hard time trying to pick out the right engagement ring for Audrey. He wanted one that said, "I'm the one that belongs on Audrey's finger". That was easier said than done as far as Reece was concerned. He was constantly perusing the selection of engagement rings at each jewelry store and consulting the women in his family for their opinions in a group message that was getting quite long.

"I like the square cut ring." Alexis said in one text she had sent back to her younger brother.

"Okay." Reece had typed back.

"The Princess ring with stone in in a tear drop from the last jewelry store has my vote." Lily said.

Martha and Rita then chimed in. Even Kate chimed in from her second honeymoon. When Kate's text came in the group message; there was a comment or two from the kids in a joking manner in response. Grace even chimed in.

Eventually Reece made his decision and purchased the engagement ring that spoke to him.

Now just came the part of deciding when he was going to propose to Audrey. Reece didn't want to copy how his twin brother had proposed or how his brother in law had proposed to his sister. Of course, no one besides Nicholas Javier and Lily knew how Nicholas Javier had proposed to Lily.

Although at the moment as Reece walked down the street following his purchase; the idea of proposing to Audrey at the park like his father had proposed to his mother way back when was starting to sound pretty good to Reece. What Reece didn't have a problem deciding was that he wanted his proposal to be special and he wanted Audrey to feel special when he proposed.


	34. Chapter 34

A/N: Bear with me everyone as you read this chapter; this chapter was written under the influence of two cups of Dr. Pepper from Panera and two cups of coffee since my day is very long today. Yes I am a caffeine addict and no I won't spontaneously combust. Enjoy.

* * *

Chapter Thirty-Four

One morning during the course of their second honeymoon; Rick had woken up at one point in the early morning hours and watched his wife who lay next him in the bed. Kate was fast asleep. The night before they had gone a few rounds in the bedroom after they had gone out to dinner together. Rick had the bedding pulled up to just below his belly button, Kate on the other hand had the bedding resting at the midway part of her rib cage and had been laying on her stomach with her long brown hair falling just right down her back.

As he lay on his side of the bed in the massive hotel suite he had booked for them; Rick wondered how he could've been as lucky as he was to be married to the beauty lying next to him. And how their love had given him a second daughter and two sons. Rick remembered back to the first few years of their partnership at the precinct. He recalled how Kate could barely stand him in the beginning and how they watched each other go from one boyfriend or girlfriend to the next before they finally came to their senses following yet another near-death experience for Kate.

"How in the world did I ever get a girl like you to fall in love with me?" Rick quietly asked as he turned ever so slightly to kiss Kate on the head.

"You must have been a good boy in a past life, babe." Kate sleepily responded.

Kate's response put a smile on Rick's face. With that Rick fell back to sleep for the next few hours.

A few hours later; Rick and Kate were relaxing beach side. Even though it had been a number of years since they had first tied the knot and time had aged them both; Kate and Rick didn't seem to have been affected by it.

Kate could still get Rick to do a double take when she came out of a pool much like she did when they had been in LA all those years ago after Royce had passed away or when she walked up to where they had been sitting on the beach in this case from the shoreline.

After the two of them had gone into the ocean at one point to cool off following a stint of sunbathing; Kate had decided to take a walk down the shoreline which had turned into a run midway through. About twenty minutes later; Kate was making her way back to where she had left her husband. Once Rick had heard Kate coming back; he had looked over his sunglasses and watched Kate walk up to the chairs.

"It's good to see that I still have an effect on you after all this time." Kate said.

"You definitely do."

"That's good to know especially after three kids."

"You were never more beautiful than when you were pregnant with Lily and the boys." Rick commented.

Kate's response was a simple look over her sunglasses as she sat down next to her husband.

By the time Rick and Kate had returned to their hotel suite; the sun had just set over the horizon. Rick had made a dinner reservation for the two of them.

"Hey babe; when is our dinner reservation?" Kate asked from the bathroom.

"7:30." Rick answered.

"And what time is it now?"

"It's a quarter of…"

"A quarter of what?"

"Quarter of seven."

"Okay."

Kate knew the restaurant they were having dinner at, they had passed it on their way to their hotel from the airport a few days ago. She knew that it was a short drive for them. It was then that Kate came out of the bathroom and rejoined Rick.

"What do you think of this?" Kate asked regarding her outfit.

"Mhmm, I'd change it…" Rick replied.

With that; Kate changed and turned around once again to face Rick.

"What about now?"

"Ah…"

"You just want me to undress again. We're going to miss our reservation if you keep this up."

"Oh, believe me; I'd like to keep it up."

Kate rolled her eyes.

"What round did we leave off at this morning?" Rick asked after the brief pause that followed his last remark.

"I think it was round two, maybe it was round three." Kate said.

"Let's make it a definitive round four."

Knowing full well that there was no chance for her to convince Rick that they didn't have the time before dinner to do what he was suggesting; she had just gone with it. Their dinner reservation had come and gone as the time ticked away.

"So, what do you want to do for dinner?" Kate asked as they lay in bed facing each other.

"I don't know."

After that along with a few kisses and round five; the duo parted ways. Rick made another reservation at the restaurant they were going to for dinner and got dressed. Kate got dressed again.


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter Thirty-Five

In a few weeks' time after Lily and Nicholas Javier's wedding it would be Father's Day. Kate and Rick each had plans to do something with their respective Dads closer to the actual day that Father's Day fell on this year. With Hallie Rose being as young as she was Alexis was tasked with getting her daughter's gift for Jack and she had to plan what they would do for Father's Day. But when it came to what Rick would do with his daughters and sons for Father's Day; all Rick had been told was that he had to make sure that he had the proper attire to go to a baseball game.

Alexis, Lily, Jake and Reece had bought tickets for the four of them to go to a New York Yankees game with Rick. When Rick had learned that the game he was going to with his kids was one where his team would be facing fellow novelist's Stephen King's Boston Red Soxs at Yankees Stadium; Rick couldn't help himself. Much to his kids' chagrin; Rick was scheming a plan to prank Stephen King at the game if they had bumped into each other. Everyone knew about the on-going feud Rick had with Stephen King.

 _"Hold on, isn't he still mad about… the thing?"_

 _"What thing?"_

 _"The baseball thing. See, Stephen King is a huge Red Sox fan and Dad…"_

 _"Oh, and your father is a Yankees fan. Oh no, Richard, what did you do?"_

 _"It was a silly joke."_

 _"More like a thinly veiled threat."_

All four of the Castle kids had returned home to the loft for the game the next day. When it came to whether or not Rick should prank Stephen King or not things were divided between the Castle kids. Alexis and Lily were trying to convince their father to leave well enough alone. They wanted him to just go to the game and have a good time with them. Jake and Reece on the other wanted their father to do a prank or two. Kate stayed neutral on the subject of the prank, she didn't want to come across as if she was choosing sides.

The hours had passed from when the Castle kids came home for the game and when game was taking place. Kate headed into work as her step-daughter, daughter and sons headed out to Yankees Stadium with their father. Alexis, Lily and the boys started to the elevator as Kate and Rick followed behind them.

"We'll hold the elevator." Alexis said as she and her siblings trekked down the hallway.

Kate and Rick had a few minutes together before they both had to go. The small gap that was between Rick and Kate was closed within seconds by Kate.

"Do me a favor while you're at the game with the kids…" Kate said.

"For you, Kate; anything."

"Don't pull any pranks on Stephen today if he's at the game today, let's put this feud to bed. Go have a good time with the kids; it will make everyone happy, including me."

Rick saw the glint in his wife's eyes.

"Is this one of those things where if you're happy then I'm happy?" Rick asked.

It was then that a smile came to Kate's face before she answered Rick.

"There's a very good chance that it is." Kate answered.

Before Rick could respond; the kids had peaked out of the elevator and down the hallway back to the loft.

"Any day now if you don't mind." all four of the Castle kids said in unison.

With that Rick and Kate joined the quartet on the elevator. When they got to the main floor the group parted ways.


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter Thirty-Six

Rick did as he was asked by Kate when it came to the Yankees versus Red Sox game that he went to with the kids. Rick even took it as far as inviting Stephen to sit with him and the kids, which Stephen graciously accepted. Of course, all the news outlets did a sports segment on the whole thing of "The Two Best Selling Authors Burying the Hatchet at the Baseball Field". It wasn't long before Kate saw the news coverage of the game and she let Rick know that she knew.

While everyone was off doing their own thing once they came back from the game that day. Now the whole family knew that Reece was going to propose to Audrey. Secrets were never kept for long in the Castle family in most instances. The only exceptions had been when Nicholas Javier had proposed to Lily and when Jack proposed to Alexis. Then of course there was the time when Rick took Kate off guard years prior and proposed at their swings in one of city parks.

Reece had it all planned when it came to how he was going to propose to Audrey. He was going to take Audrey to all their firsts in New York before they ended up at the place where they had their first anniversary as a couple.

It would be at that place where Reece was going to propose. Many hours later; Reece and Audrey were in a cab heading to the Strawberry Fields and the John Lennon Memorial. Reece could see that his window to propose to Audrey was quickly fading away when Audrey started to fall asleep on him as they made their way to their destination. Little did Audrey know but her family and Reece's were all waiting in the distance for their cue to join them.

"Audrey, being with you over the past two years have been the best two years of my life. And I wouldn't trade anything for it nor would I have it any other way. You are my world, my everything. As you have said countless time over the past two years; I love you to the moon and back. Audrey; will you marry me?" Reece asked.

Audrey was completely stunned and a bit chilly as the hot summer day in May slowly turned into a cool summer night.

"Will you marry me?" Reece asked again since he could tell that Audrey was stunned.

"Of course; Reece, I would be honored to marry you."

Once they heard Audrey answered; both families converged on the newly engaged couple. Congratulations were doled out just as they had been at the last proposal and the two that preceded that one.

Audrey's family welcomed Reece to their family once again and the Castles did the same with Audrey.

At one point; Jake turned to his future sister in law.

"Welcome to the family, sis. I've been waiting for a new sister for some time now. The older models aren't what they use to be." Jake playfully teased at the tail end of his statement.

When Jake had proposed to Grace; Reece had pretty much said the same thing to Grace. The Castle kids were known to bust each other's chops every so often and anyone who got involved with one of the Castle kids picked up on the sibling comradery instantly when the quartet were around each other.

"Getting a bit tired of us, huh?" Alexis commented.

"Finding us boring; little brother?" Lily chimed in.

Reece shrugged as everyone then decided to celebrate Reece and Audrey's engagement at Zabar's over some cocktails.


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Alexis wanted to give her sister and sisters in law to be an early gift. For Grace and Audrey; it was an engagement gift of sorts. With Lily; it was a wedding gift. The three younger girls knew full well that Alexis was a part of the _High School Musical_ generation thanks to Disney. When it came to Lily, Audrey and Grace; they were a part of Disney's _Descendants_ generation. So, Alexis said that the four of them could have a _Descendants_ marathon as their gift. Lily, Grace and Audrey were just as excited as Alexis had been when she had her _High School Musical_ marathon with her former babysitter; Rina.

 _Hey! Ready for a High School Musical marathon?_

 _I'm so ready._

"Ready for _Descendants_?" Alexis asked the girls.

In a few short minutes, there was a chorus of a unanimous yes from the girls. So, with that being said; Alexis started the first _Descendants_ movie while the girls settled in with the popcorn in hand.

Just after actress Dove Cameron finished narrating at the start of the movie with a tablet in the opening scene; the girls started to sing along to the opening song.

An hour and fifty-two minutes later; the first _Descendants_ movie was over and the four girls took a bit of a break before they started up the second movie.

"You know back when these first two aired; I was actually worried that Mal and Ben were gonna end up like Ben and Audrey." Grace said.

Alexis, Lily and Audrey shared a look with Grace. By now the four girls were standing around the center island in the loft's kitchen.

"You should have read the books." Lily replied.

"You know that I like to see the movies more than reading the books."

"Yeah, yeah; we learn that a while ago." Alexis chimed in.

"First it was; _I'd rather see the Harry Potter movies over reading the books._ " Lily commented.

"Then it was you rather see the _Twilight movies,_ the _Hunger Games movies_ and the _Divergent movies_ over the books." Lily stated.

"And last but not least before _Descendants_ ; you said that didn't want to read the _Fifty Shades of Grey_ books but you so wanted to see the movies." Audrey said.

"Okay, okay, okay; enough with the pile on Grace moment."

With that the others backed off and the girls went back to watching the movies until they all fell asleep. When Rick and Kate got home from the precinct; Kate covered Grace and Audrey with blankets before turning off the tv. Rick on the other hand carried each of his daughters up to their old bedrooms one at a time.


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter Thirty-Eight

The next morning while Rick and Kate got breakfast together; the girls slowly started to make their way over to the kitchen. All four girls still in their pajamas; looked like they were half asleep when they got to the center island in the counter. The aroma of coffee was the one thing that had woke the girls up. When they had gotten to the kitchen island counter; Rick was working on getting them coffee while Kate finished up the eggs and pancakes.

"I always like it when Mom makes breakfast." Lily said after she took a sip of her coffee.

"Same here; it's a lot less experimental and a lot more normal." Alexis chimed in.

In that moment; Rick got the _Hey, that's not fair_ look on his face.

"What's wrong with the breakfasts I make?" Rick asked.

"Let's just say that sometimes mixing chocolate with marshmallows and scrambled eggs isn't the most appetizing thing to have for breakfast."

Rick made a pouty/frowny face while Kate just shook her head at her husband's childish ways.

"I like the breakfasts that he makes." Grace said.

"Me too." Audrey commented.

There was a brief silence in the room.

"And the in-laws to be start sucking up to Dad." Lily playfully jested.

After breakfast that morning; Rick and Kate went off to work. Alexis went home to her husband and daughter before checking in on things at her Dad's P.I. office where Hayley was finishing up a case. Lily was going to meet up with Nicholas Javier so they could pick out his tuxedo for the wedding before going to lunch together with his parents. Grace had her niece/goddaughter's birthday party to attend in Williamsburg. Audrey had to go to her cousin's high school graduation party in Morris Plains.

Both Grace and Audrey knew that their respective families were going to be all over them once they saw the engagement ring on each girl's hand. Of course, the girls had their respective fiancé in tow with them so that was only going to exacerbate the whole thing at each event. Jake and Reece were good under pressure as well as being good with being in the spotlight. It was one of the perks of growing up as the kids of Richard Castle.

As they made their way to each thing they had to do Grace and Audrey prepped each of their respective guy before they arrived at the parties they were going to. The amount of times that Audrey and Grace had been told to relax were too numerous to count.

Awhile later both couples were at their respective parties. Alexis and Jack were at work while their daughter was being watched by her paternal grandparents. And the tuxedo shopping was just getting started.


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter Thirty-Nine

A few days later after the _Descendants_ movie marathon; Lily made her way over to her sister and brother in law's house in Montclair to watch her niece for the night. Alexis and Jack to go to a work thing for Jack's work, so Lily volunteered to watch her niece. Upon arrival; Alexis told her sister that if she wanted to stay the night, she could just in case Lily didn't want to drive back to the city that night. Lily said that may just take them up on their offer. With that; Alexis and Jack left, their daughter in the capable care of her aunt.

Through the course of the night; Jack and Alexis periodically checked in on things back home. Nicholas Javier had texted Lily like he always did when they weren't together. During their text conversation; Nicholas Javier had inquired if Lily was returning to the city or not. Lily told him it all depended on when Alexis and Jack got home. After that; Lily fed Hallie Rose and changed her diaper before giving her niece a bath. About an hour or so before Alexis and Jack got home that night; Lily put Hallie Rose to bed.

When Alexis and Jack had gotten home it was late so Lily opted to stay the night. Shortly after her sister and brother in law got home; Lily headed up to the guest bedroom. Once in the guest bedroom; Lily text Nicholas Javier to tell him that she was staying the night at Alexis and Jack followed soon after.

Hours later; everyone was up and getting ready for the day ahead of them. Jack was getting Hallie Rose dressed and ready to spend the day with his parents after he got himself ready for the work day. Alexis was ready to head out to the P.I. office and was getting coffee squared away for herself, Jack and Lily in the kitchen. Lily came downstairs before her brother in law and niece.

The Castle girls were making up their respective cups of coffee the way that they like it. Alexis had been a bit taken aback when her sister came into the kitchen in just the tank top she had been in since previous day and her underwear. Now Alexis had heard years ago that her own mother had walked up to the island counter where Kate had been at loft in pretty much the same attire back when Alexis had mono.

 _Oh, that smells delicious. Can I have a cup?_

 _I – was just making that for Castle, but (she puts on a chipper voice) yeah, here._

 _So how's Alexis?_

 _She's asleep. She's always asleep. I love her, but with mono she's a bit of a bore._

 _Hmm._

 _So. You and Rick?_

 _Yes. Me and … Rick, so …You know, you might wanna put some pants on._

 _Why? It's not like I'm going anywhere._

 _Oh. Hey, you too. What's going on?_

 _Nothing. Just making coffee. Here, this is for you._

 _Oh, thank you. Mmm…what is in this? Did you add – nutmeg._

 _Nutmeg._

 _Nutmeg?_

 _Whenever Rick pulled all-nighters I'd sprinkle nutmeg in his coffee. Gave it an extra kick. You want to try?_

 _Uh, no. Thanks. I think I've had enough kick for one morning. I will be at work._

At one point; Alexis noticed her husband and daughter coming towards the kitchen.

"You know, you may wanna put some pants on."

"Why; I'm not leaving yet."

It was then that Jack and Hallie Rose came into the kitchen. Good mornings were exchanged; Lily went up to change and get her things together before she left. Once that was taken care of; Lily said her goodbyes and sent off a text to her fiancé before she headed home.


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter Forty

One evening; Lily and Nicholas Javier were out to dinner at one of the many New York restaurants. Their wedding was just days away now and they hadn't really figured out the particulars of what their life together would be like after they were married. In fact, it was one of the things that Lily wanted to discuss over dinner.

"So…in a few days; I'll be a Ryan." Lily said while her fiancé took a sip of his wine after the bite of the entrée he had ordered had been consumed.

Lily waited for a response from Nicholas Javier; with one impatient look later, Lily finally got what she was seeking.

"Yes, you will be. I was actually surprised that you weren't going to hyphenate your last name like your mom and sister did."

"I'll always be a Castle whether I have it as my last name or not."

It was in that moment that there was an awkward pause in the conversation. Days prior Lily had gotten her hair cut so that it was short for the wedding. Nicholas Javier knew where Lily wanted the conversation to go so he brought it there.

"I think we should stay in the city or move to one of the boroughs once we're married. I'm sure that we could get one our parents to co-sign on a lease for an apartment." Nicholas Javier said.

"We can live anywhere we want; it doesn't have to be the city or one of the neighboring boroughs. What I mean is that we have both lived in New York City for the past twenty some odd years of our lives. Why don't we get out of the city?"

"And live where? Wisteria Lane?"

"Okay that was just weird that you knew that fictional tv show fact."

"I'd rather stay either in Manhattan or one of the neighboring boroughs." Nicholas Javier.

"Well I would like to get away from city. I mean; we don't have to go as far as going to another state like Lexi and Jack did before Hallie Rose was born, it would just be nice to get away from the hustle and bustle. Besides it not like we can't afford a place of our own. I do have my trust fund."

"You only got access to that a year ago

After that the soon to be newlyweds' quiet discussion over where they would live escalated into a full-blown argument in the middle of the restaurant with the other patrons looking at Lily and Nicholas Javier.

"I can't do this, not now." Lily said.

With that; Lily got up from her seat.

"I'll talk to you later."

Within a second or two; Nicholas Javier found himself all alone at the table as the waiter brought the check to Nicholas Javier out of pity. While Nicholas Javier footed the bill so to speak; Lily made her way back to her childhood home, she needed a calm place to sort through things. At that point as Lily kept walking; she wasn't a hundred percent sure that she was ready to get married in a few days or if Nicholas Javier was even ready. As she drew closer to the building that the loft was in, she made contact with Alexis and Martha to ask if they could come to the loft when they could get there.


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter Forty-One

Within minutes of Lily arriving at her childhood home after what she had deemed a disastrous dinner date with her fiancé; Martha had gotten to the loft while Kate was pulling out wine glasses and the wine bottle. A while after Martha's arrival and half of the four wine glasses had wine in them; Alexis showed up. Before leaving her house in Montclair; Alexis told Jack that she was needed at the loft once Hallie Rose was in bed for the night.

"Okay what's the emergency? Is the wedding off?" Alexis asked as she was handed a glass of wine.

"At this point I don't know if the wedding is going to happen." Lily answered.

As the four Castle women went to sit in the living room; Martha and Kate followed the younger Castle women to the living room.

"Any idea of what this is all about, darling?" Martha asked.

"No idea whatsoever. Lily just said that she needed a quiet place to sort things out and that she needed the three of us."

Martha nodded.

"And why didn't she ask Rita to come?"

"She's closer to you than she is to Rita; just like Alexis and the boys are. You've always been there for all of them." Kate answered the last questioned posed by her mother in law.

In the seconds that followed of that; multiple generations of strong and independent Castle women came together in one of the rare moment where it was just them.

"So, kiddo; what's going on?

"Nick and I had a fight, it was worse one yet. It's to the point where I don't think that we're ready to get married in a few days. I think it's over for us." Lily said before she took a sip of her wine.

Lily was hoping that the three women before her would be able to impart some sort of advice to her since they had all been in her shoes before they had each gotten married.

"What did you two fight over?" Alexis inquired.

"We fought over where we're going to live after we're married and if we'll be able to afford it on own."

In the moment after Lily confession of sorts stopped her sister, mother and grandmother dead in their thoughts. Alexis, Kate and Martha all shared a look before they responded to what Lily had told them.

"What happened exactly?" Kate asked breaking the silence.

Just as Lily was about to fill in the details of the argument she had with Nicholas Javier; Rick came home and disturbed everything as he noticed that his wife was in the company of his mother and both of his daughters with wine in reach of all four of them.

"What's going on?" Rick asked as he went to kiss his wife before extending a hug to each of his daughters and pat on his mother's shoulder.

"Don't ask; we've got this, Dad." Alexis replied.

Rick shook his head at his redheaded daughter.

"Come on, what's going on?"

"Babe, Lily just had a minor disagreement with Nick that she needs to talk through with us."

"Okay then; I'm here and ready to help." Rick said as he settled in next to Kate on the couch.

"Richard, darling; we as in Katherine, Alexis and I have this under control. Lily sought out our council on this."

It was then that Rick went into pouty child mode.

"Why don't you go down to the Old Haunt with Dad and Jackson. Or see what's going on at the office." Kate suggested.

"Oh fine."

With that; Rick begrudgingly left the loft and Lily filled in the details of the fight with Nicholas Javier so that she got the help she wanted from the three women she looked up to the most.


	42. Chapter 42

Chapter Forty-Two

After he had been asked to vacate the loft; Rick went about finding out what happened between his daughter and her fiancé. When Rick was a block or so away from home; he called Kevin and Nicholas Javier up. Rick had one simple request for them and that was to meet him at his bar; The Old Haunt. Before he ended the call to Kevin and Nicholas Javier; Rick promised that drinks were on him that evening. Once that phone call was over; Rick called upon the men in their little group that were also married or in the case of Rick's father in law, had been married, to help the next generation with whatever predicament he was in. Of course promised the rest of the men he had asked to The Old Haunt that drinks were on him just as he had promised in his first phone call.

While all of the guys were making their way to The Old Haunt; Lily was still seeking help from the ladies she had called on hours before. And much like her mother; Lily wasn't taking it easy when it came to questioning.

"What do I do? Was I wrong? Help me, you guys." Lily said.

Before they answered; Martha, Alexis and Kate all shared a look with each other as they each recalled their endeavors that led up to each of their respective trips down the aisle. For Martha; the trips down the aisle went off without a hitch, each marriage just ended on a sour note. With Kate; it had been a little bit on the rocky side to say the least and everyone in the room knew that story quite well. Alexis had been somewhere in between her grandmother and her step-mother when it came to her trip down the aisle.

"Well? Are you guys going to say anything?" Lily said.

"You're entitled to your own opinion and so is Nick, darling." Martha replied.

"I know that."

"Maybe you guys should find somewhere to live that will give both of you what you want and what you are both looking for. That's what Jack and I did." Alexis chimed in.

Lily nodded. "That's what I was intending on doing but I doubt that was what it seemed like to Nick."

There was another pause in the ladies' conversation.

"Mom; what's your take on all of this?" Lily asked Kate.

"Go ahead; Katherine."

As Kate pieced together what she wanted to say to her daughter; the guys had all reached The Old Haunt. Rick was the first one there and he watched as everyone that he had invited made their way to his booth; the one that was right next to his picture on the wall.

"So, son; what's going on with you and my daughter?" Rick asked Nicholas Javier.

"Lily and I had a fight at dinner earlier. One minute everything is fine and we're both enjoying ourselves. The next thing I know we're arguing and Lily is getting upset with every passing second. Next thing I know; she is out the door and left me with the bill for dinner. Where did she end up anyway?" Nicholas Javier asked.

"She's at the loft with her sister, mother and grandmother." Rick answered.

"I am surprised that she didn't call Rita like she called Martha." Jackson stated.

"With all due respect; Jackson, but Lily isn't as close to your wife as she is with Martha." Jim said.

The men talked as did the women back at the loft. Kate gave her daughter her opinion. By the time that Rick got home from The Old Haunt that night; he found the ladies asleep in the living room with empty wine glasses and an empty wine bottle on the coffee table.


	43. Chapter 43

Chapter Forty-Three

The following morning; Rick came into a sight that he hadn't seen in years. In the kitchen at various places around the center island were the four most important women in his life. His mother; to whom he had sought advice from countless times over the years or she had given some of her _unsolicited advice_ quite a bit over the years. Next was his wife; to whom he still was absolutely and irrevocably in love with, he was still taken by her beauty to this day. Then there were his two princesses to whom he would take a bullet for. Then again Rick would take a bullet for any of the women that were standing before him. Rick proved that when he knocked Kate out of the way possibly getting shot a second time at Captain Montgomery's funeral years prior. Of course; there was time that Rick went across the Atlantic Ocean just to rescue Alexis when she had been kidnapped and brought to Paris during her Columbia years.

"I hope you got the advice you were looking for last night, sweetheart." Rick said to his youngest daughter.

Rick had just finished saying a non-verbal good morning to his loved ones in the room by the time he spoke to Lily. For Martha; it was a kiss on the cheek. With Kate; it was a kiss on the lips that would leave Kate breathless for a moment or two. Alexis and Lily each got a kiss on the top of their heads.

"Yes, I did get what I was looking for last night. Grams, Mom and Lexie helped a lot. Especially what Mom said before you got home." Lily responded.

"Where did you end up after we kicked you out of here last night?" Martha asked.

"The Old Haunt; Mother with a few of the guys."

"Was one of the guys, Nick?" Kate asked.

Kate was always able to read her husband in any and every situation.

"Maybe."

Once breakfast was over; Martha headed home just as Alexis had. Lily called up her fiancé to ask him to meet her at the park that her parents had important moments at. Nicholas Javier agreed that he would meet Lily there in a few minutes.

By the time that Nicholas Javier had gotten to the infamous swing set at the park that everyone in precinct family that his father created with Lily's parents with Javier, Lanie and Captain Montgomery years ago; Lily was already there. She was sitting on a swing facing the street much like her mother did. When Nicholas Javier got to the swings he sat on the swing next to Lily facing the opposite direction that Lily was.

"I am so sorry for just leaving like I did last night." Lily said.

"It's alright, all is forgiven."

"So, my Dad talked to you last night at his bar."

"Your Dad, my Dad, your grandfathers and Uncle Javi."

"Okay that was a bit too much on Dad's part; sorry about that, he got that whole _go big or don't bother at all_ thing from Grams while he was growing up."

"It's all good; my love."

With that; Lily and Nicholas Javier hashed things out from the conversation that went awry the night before. Lily clued Nicholas Javier in on the conversation she had last night with her sister, her mom and grandmother. Nicholas Javier did the same when it came to the conversation he had at The Old Haunt with both of their fathers, Lily's grandfathers and their Uncle. They even shared the advice that Kate and Rick gave to each of them. Nicholas Javier shared the advice that Kevin gave him once they had gotten home from the bar last night.


	44. Chapter 44

Chapter Forty-Four

After the workday was over and the loft was quite again; Rick and Kate had time to themselves. Lily wanted to spend time with her future sister in laws since Alexis already did that a few weeks ago. Jake and Reese wanted to spend time with Nicholas Javier. For the guys, there was a baseball game happening in the Bronx at Yankees Stadium due to it being rivalry week for the Yankees. Lily was out to dinner with Grace and Audrey.

At the loft, just after getting from the precinct; Kate slipped out of her heels while Rick put away their jackets in the hall closet. Now Kate and Rick had their own routine; their own rhythm. They mirrored each other perfectly; from the way, they moved to the way they seemed to share one brain. Proof in point when Rick went to the kitchen to get their bottle of red wine they were currently working on, Kate got the wine glasses before she went to light a few candles and turn the loft lights down a bit. Rick would bring the wine to the couch where he'd find his wife.

Once they were reunited on the couch; Kate would settle herself against Rick and the two of them would sit there for hours unwinding from the day. They did this in the early days of their relationship and they would do it until the very end whenever that maybe. When it came to the romance aspect of their relationship; they were definitely not lacking in that department.

"What do you want to do tonight?" Rick asked.

"I don't know, babe. I'm good here, at the moment."

Kate knew full well where Rick was going and what he was angling for.

"Oh okay…" Rick said in a sort of defeated child tone.

Kate shook her head, sometimes it was like she had a fifth child on top of four she already had.

"What do you want to do, babe?" Kate asked even though she already knew the answer that Rick was going to give her.

"I think we should go for round fifteen…"

Kate didn't say a word, instead she got up from Rick and the couch after she set her wine glass on the coffee table behind the couch. She extended her arms and hands to Rick, who was still on the couch. Once Rick realized that Kate was going to give him what he wanted, he set his wine next to hers before she pulled him from the couch and led him to their bedroom.

Hours later around 3am; Rick had his wife in his arms once again. Rick was wide awake while Kate slept the rest of the night away until her alarm went off for the next work day. There were some thoughts going through Rick's mind at the moment; more like he was counting his blessings starting off with the beautiful creature next to him. Eventually Rick fell asleep too.

A few hours later; Rick and Kate woke up to the smell of breakfast cooking, coffee brewing and the sound of Hallie Rose playing the morning away.

"I think the kids are here." Kate said once both she and Rick became fully conscious.

"Or we have kind thieves who decided to make us breakfast before they robbed us."

For the first time that morning while they got dressed before exiting the bedroom; Kate shook her head at her husband.

"Its more like the kids are here; why else would Hallie Rose be here?" Kate posed as they left the bedroom with the bed itself still in disarray from the night before's activity that carried over into the early morning hours.

When they got into the main living area of the loft; Kate's deduction of the kids being in the kitchen making breakfast and Hallie Rose playing were validated. Kate gave Rick an _I told you so_ look as she scooped up Hallie Rose from the pack and play her parents had put her in after they had arrived.

"What's all this?" Rick asked.

"This is what we call family brunch, Dad." Alexis said.

Coffee was being poured for Rick and Kate at that moment. If this was a sign of what was in store as far as having all four of his children, his grandchild, and his in laws; then Rick was going be quite happy.

"And before you ask; all of the grandparents were previously engaged in other things." Jake stated.

Reece handed his parents their coffees before he went back to being at his fiancé's side.

"Apparently Grams had a date, one that she was just back from when we told her about brunch." Lily said.

"Looks like Grams isn't the only one doing the walk of shame in the family." Reece chimed in.

"Reece." Kate said.

"Reece, no innuendoes around Hales." Alexis commented.

"Not that we want to know what happened in there last night, let alone any of the details."

With that, the family put the awkwardness of the whole conversation aside and sat down to brunch together.


	45. Chapter 45

Chapter Forty-Five

One of the days before their wedding; Lily and Nicholas Javier were at breakfast together trying to figure out where they were going to live once they were married. The day before; Lily and Nicholas Javier were checking out apartments in Manhattan as well as the surrounding boroughs. They still had to check out a few homes in Pennsylvania after they looked at homes in New Jersey. There were a lot of homes in New Jersey that they had to look at. The first being in Morristown followed by a few in Chatham.

By late morning; Lily and Nicholas Javier had met up with their realtor at one of the many restaurants in Morristown. The realtor they were using was coming off a recommendation from the parents of one Lily's friends from Stanford, so this was the first in person meeting.

"Ms. Castle, Mr. Ryan." the realtor said.

"Yes, that would be us." Nicholas Javier answered.

With that Nicholas Javier and Lily joined their realtor at the table she had gotten when she got to the restaurant. After they shook hands with the realtor; Nicholas Javier embraced his inner gentleman by holding letting his fiancé slide in the booth first.

"It's nice to meet you; Ms. Hart" Lily said.

"Same here, Ms. Castle. Please call me Eliza."

Lily could tell that Eliza suspected that she was working for a profile client. There were times when the name Castle brought attention which all four of the Castle kids and the rest of the family had to contend with every so often thanks to Rick.

"Before we go any further; to answer your question, yes I am the daughter of novelist Richard Castle and his muse Katherine Beckett." Lily said.

"That's what I thought but I didn't want to say anything."

After that Eliza told Lily and Nicholas Javier about homes that she had in the towns that they were interested in. Once they were done with the homes in New Jersey; Eliza would refer them to a colleague of hers in Pennsylvania to aide them there just as the realtor New York did when it came to the house search in New Jersey.

Shortly after that the trio went house hunting. By 9:30-10pm that night; Lily and Nicholas Javier were walking down the streets of Manhattan after dinner as they discussed where they were when it came to where they were going to live once they were married.

"I think we both liked the apartment that was across from Bryant Park and the one near Riverside Park." Nicholas Javier said.

Lily and Nicholas Javier had been switching off where they were staying together the last few days between the loft and Nicholas Javier's childhood home.

"But we also like the houses we saw in Mendham, the apartments in Morristown and the houses just before two colleges in Madison." Lily countered.

Tonight; the soon to be newlyweds were staying at the loft with Lily's brothers, Rick and Kate.

"Why don't we hold off until we see the houses in Pennsylvania and then we'll make our decisions."

"Sounds good to me."

By then; Nicholas Javier and Lily had reached the building where the loft was.

"Why don't you slip out of those and carry them the rest of the way since we're here." Nicholas Javier said as he directed Lily's attention to the high heeled shoes she was wearing.

"I'm good, I am the daughter of Katherine Castle after all." Lily said.

With one look from her fiancé after that; Lily opted to slip out of her shoes. On some level, Lily could tell that Nicholas Javier was up to something. After all she could read Nicholas Javier just like Kate was able to read Rick.

They entered the building and rode the elevator up. Once they were a bit closer to the loft itself; Nicholas Javier decided to get a bit of practice in for their wedding night. It was then that Nicholas Javier decided it was time to sweep Lily off of her feet. In a matter of seconds Lily was being carried over the threshold and into the loft by her soon to be husband while her heels hung from her fingers.

As soon as they were inside of the loft; they were alerted to who else was there that night when Kate and Rick each cleared their throats.

"So how was your day?" Kate asked the kids.

"It was fine." Lily replied.

"That's good."

"Any plans for the rest of the night?" Kate posed.

"Really Mom, you're going to question me? I know all of the tactics by now."

Nicholas Javier was starting to turn red in the face as he stood with Lily still in his arms while Rick was squirming a bit next to Kate.

"Even if we did have those sort of plans for tonight, we're engaged and we are both consenting adults just as you two are consenting adults." Lily said.

There was no rebuttal to that so with that Lily and Nicholas Javier said their goodnights before they headed upstairs.

"So, let's call it a night…" Nicholas Javier said once they were in the seclusion of Lily's bedroom.

"Let's not. I say we have a bit of fun first. After all its what they're assuming we're doing." Lily replied.

Nicholas Javier nodded and they got into it with each other after that.


	46. Chapter 46

Chapter Forty-Six

Lily and Nicholas Javier's wedding was about twenty-four hours away which meant that it was time for the rehearsal dinner. So, both families, the bridal party, the bride and groom gathered at a local restaurant that was a few miles away from the Castle family home in the Hamptons. Things for the ceremony the next day was set up for the most part by the time that everyone was in the backyard of the Hamptons house. The collective was meeting the officiant at the Hamptons house to through everything related the actual ceremony. With everyone who wasn't in the bridal took their seats were sitting in first few rows of chairs that were set up.

Nicholas Javier was taking his place in front of where the officiant was standing just as the bridal party made their way down the aisle and took their places. Just as the last bridesmaid and the last groomsmen took their spots on the respective sides of the altar; Rick and Lily started to make their way down the aisle for the practice run so to speak. Before the rehearsal; Lily and Nicholas Javier realized that there were more groomsmen than there were bridesmaids. So, Lily asked one of her friend; Jamie, from Stanford to fill the empty spot.

Once they had taken a trip or two down the aisle during the rehearsal; they had to figure out who was escorting Hallie Rose down the aisle during the ceremony since she wasn't walking yet. The other thing that had to be figured out was who was going to walk Kate to her seat since her other half would be walking their daughter down the aisle. Obviously; Kevin and Jenny would be walking down the aisle to their seats. Rita and Jackson would walk down together. Like Kate; Jim and Martha were the odd ones out. Hopefully they'd have it all figured out before the actual ceremony took place.

After the rehearsal was done, everyone went to dinner at one of the many local restaurants in the Hamptons. Once the group was seated at the table; a toast had been made in the couple's honor over the drinks that had been ordered. Dinner then came and went.

"It's time, you two." Jenny said to her son and Lily.

Lily and Nicholas Javier shared a look, both knowing full well about the bride and groom spending the night before their wedding apart. Nicholas Javier went with his family back to the hotel they were staying at while Lily went back to the house with her family. In twenty-four hours' time, it would be time to get ready for the wedding. Nicholas Javier along with his family would be back at the house to get ready for the wedding with his groomsmen while his older sister got ready with Lily and the other bridesmaids.

"Time for bed." Alexis said as she and Jack brought their sleeping daughter up to bed.

Jake, Reece and Lily followed up behind their sister, brother in law and niece. Rick and Kate were up for a while after that.

The hours had passed and it was the day of the wedding. Nicholas Javier, his family and his groomsmen along with the bridesmaid and the others. The bridesmaids went to join Lily, Kate, Alexis, Hallie Rose and Martha where they were getting ready on the one side of the house. Nicholas Javier and his groomsmen went to one of the rooms on the opposite side of the house.

It wasn't long before the bride, bridesmaids and the flower girl were all in their dresses for the ceremony and the rest of the finishing touches were done. While some of the bridesmaids occupied Hallie Rose; Martha, Alexis and Kate came up behind Lily who was sitting at the vanity looking at herself in the mirror to make sure everything was good with her make up. Lily knew what was coming; she heard the story of her grandmother bestowing a set of earrings to her mother when she was growing up. And she witnessed her mother and grandmother passing said earrings to Alexis on Alexis' wedding day. Today was Lily's turn to get the earrings and have them in her possession until Hallie Rose got married in the very distant future.

"Ladies; would you mind giving us a moment." Martha asked the bridesmaids.

The girls nodded as they started to make their way out of the room.

"You guys should give her a bottle before the wedding gets underway. Her bottles in the diaper bag in the kitchen." Alexis said regarding her daughter.

Once again, the girls nodded and they all went downstairs with Hallie Rose.

After the door was closed; Martha, Alexis and Kate came up to Lily.

"I brought you something…" Alexis said mimicking what Martha had said to Kate years before.

"In case you don't have something blue." Kate said.

With that Alexis handed her younger sister the jewelry box with the earrings. In a matter of seconds; Lily opened the box to reveal the pair of sapphire drop earrings that had been passed down to each Rodger woman on their wedding day.

"Wow; they're beautiful." Lily said after a minute or so of staring at the earrings.

A smile came to the faces of Martha, Kate and Alexis.

"They were given to me by my mother to wear on my wedding day and by her mother before. Only women of substance have worn these gems." Martha said paraphrasing what she had previously said to Kate.

"Thank you so much. Thank you all so much."

With that, Lily put the earrings on.

"They're exquisite on you."

A bit later it was just about time for the ceremony.


	47. Chapter 47

A/N1: I'm not a 100% sure if I have said in past chapters of this fanfiction or the one that preceded it; that Kate was still a Detective with the 12th or if she was the captain of the 12th, its been a very long time and a lot has been done with this storyline over the course of two fanfictions. So for all intent and purpose; Kate is now the Captain of the 12th Precinct.

A/N2: At the time of this chapter's posting it is Sept. 11th, 2017; which is a difficult day for those of us that live in the U.S. and even though its been sixteen years since the tragedy, it is still fresh in our minds. So with that said; I have one request when it comes to this chapter, please kind in regards to the reviews you leave after reading this chapter and if you wish to leave a review that may not come across as kind then post it tomorrow on the 12th. Thank-you for taking this request into consideration and thank you for reading this fanfiction.

#NeverForget

* * *

Chapter Forty-Seven

"We'll go see how things are going for the ceremony." Kate said a while after her daughter had put on Martha's earrings on.

"Let us know when you want Dad to come up." Alexis chimed in.

"Will do." Lily replied.

Kate and Alexis headed out of the room. Martha held back for a few minutes before she followed her eldest grandchild and her daughter in law.

"You look absolutely beautiful; darling." Martha said.

"Thank you, Grams, and thank you so much for your earrings."

Martha nodded as she squeezed one of Lily's shoulders affectionately before she left the room.

Lily was a bit nervous like some tend to be on their wedding day. As she touched up her make-up and made sure everything was good with her hair; Lily tried to settle her nerves. She recalled the conversation she had the night before bed with the three ladies that had just left her so she could have a few minutes to herself.

Once her nerves were under control; Lily sent a quick text to her sister. _Send Dad up, get things going down there._ Shortly after the text to Alexis had been sent Lily could hear the music playing outside as she looked out the window. She could see her loved ones taking their seats amongst the guests that had been invited. After seeing her mother and soon to be mother in law take their seats on their respective sides of the aisle; Lily saw the officiant take his place with Nicholas Javier just a few steps behind him.

After that; Lily saw her bridesmaids walk down the aisle with the groomsman they had been paired up with once Hallie Rose had been pulled down the aisle by Hayley.

A knock on the door somewhat startled Lily until she realized that it was her father coming to retrieve her.

"It's time; Lily-Bug." Rick said as he opened the door and joined his youngest daughter.

Upon laying his eyes on his youngest daughter in her wedding dress and veil; Rick had his "I loved her first" moment every father of the bride had when he was about to give his daughter away. As Lily said something to Rick; which he didn't hear at all, Rick remembered all of the father-daughter moments they had together from the day that Lily came into the world to this day.

"Dad; did you hear me?" Lily said again.

"No; sorry. What did you say?"

"Is everything okay with my dress and veil?"

"Yes. You look beautiful, absolutely perfect. Just as perfect as your mom did when she and I got married."

"Which time?" Lily playfully teased even though she knew which time Rick was talking about.

With a smirk from Rick as his response; the two of them made their way downstairs and out of the house to the backyard where everyone else was. The music cued Rick and Lily to make their trip down the aisle. Part of Rick could hardly believe that this was the last time he would be taking a trip down the aisle.

"Who gives this woman to this man?" the officiant asked once Lily and Rick had reached the end of the aisle.

There was a pause between the officiant's query and when Rick was supposed to give his answer due to Rick getting lost inside his head again. Lily nudged Rick to snap him out of it.

"Who gives this woman to this man?"

"Her mother, sister, brothers and I do." Rick answered.

Martha, Jim, Jackson and Rita stood up at that point to add their response to the officiant's question. "As do we."

It was after the grandparents sat down again that Lily got another surprise when all of the officers and detectives from the 12th precinct stood up to chime in just as the grandparents did. A tear came to Lily's eyes when the officers and detectives from her mother's command stood up to "give her away".

After Rick took his seat next his wife; the ceremony continued. Then before long; the officiant got to the part of the ceremony where the vows would be said. The officiant had Lily say her vows

"I promise you, I will love you. I will be your friend. And your partner in crime and in life. Always." Lily said ending her vows just like her mother had ended her own vows many years before.

Nicholas Javier said his vows and ended his vows just as his father had ended his own vows back in the day.

"With these vows being said; you can now kiss your bride." the officiant said to Nicholas Javier.

Nicholas Javier wasted no time when it came to kissing Lily, they were now husband and wife.

It was after their first kiss as husband and wife that the officiant spoke once again.

"It is with great honor; that I give you for the first time anywhere, Mr. & Mrs. Nicholas Javier Ryan."

The backyard of the Castle family Hamptons home erupted in cheers and applause as the newlyweds made their way down the aisle. When they made it midway down the aisle; the entire bridal party followed behind them. Once Lily and Nicholas Javier had reached the back porch of the house; they paused and shared one more kiss before they disappeared into the seclusion the house provided them.


	48. Chapter 48

A/N1: Once again; I am unsure if I have Johanna Beckett alive or dead when it comes to this fanfic and "Growing Up in New York" so for the sake of the current story line; Johanna Beckett is dead.

* * *

Chapter Forty-Eight

While Nicholas Javier and Lily were on their honeymoon in the tropics; Jake and Reece were each sitting down with their respective fiancés trying to decide on a day to get married. Reece and Audrey were walking through Bryant Park together on this particular afternoon. Across town; Jake and Grace were heading to lunch at one of Manhattan's many restaurants. Now that both of the Castle girls were happily married and the eldest had her own little family; everyone began to wonder which of the Castle boys was going to get married first.

"When did your grandparents get married?" Audrey asked.

"Which grandparents?"

"Your mother's parents?" Audrey answered.

"I believe that their anniversary is coming up in a week or so. On the fifteenth."

There was a pause in Reece and Audrey's conversation as Audrey mulled things over.

"What's going on in that pretty little head of yours?" Reece asked.

"I think that we should get married on that day. Do you think that your grandfather would be okay with that?"

A smile came to Reece's face as he responded to what Audrey had said. "He would be more that okay with that. He would be honored as would my grandmother if she was alive today."

"Are you sure?"

"Let's call him so you know that it's okay."

With that; Reece called Jim.

"Hello." Jim said when he answered his phone.

"Hey Grandpa; its Reece and Audrey. You're on speaker."

"Hey kids, what's going on?"

"Not much; Audrey and I are walking through Bryant Park…"

"Okay."

"We were discussing our wedding…" Audrey said.

"Okay." Jim said again.

"I believe we came up with a date for the wedding." Reece said.

"And what day did you two settle on?"

"Yours and Grandma Jo's anniversary." Reece answered.

"Is that alright with you?" Audrey asked quickly.

Once again there was a pause in the conversation which made Audrey a bit nervous.

"It's more than alright, Audrey. In fact; I am quite honored that you two choose that day and I know that Johanna would feel the same way if she were still with us. You have my blessing."

With that; goodbyes were said and the phone call end. Audrey took Reece's phone from him and put a countdown on it for their upcoming wedding. After she did that with Reece's phone; she did the same with hers. When they got back from their walk; they would tell everyone else that they were getting married soon.

* * *

A/N2: The idea for Reece and Audrey getting married on the same day that Jim and Johanna tied the knot was derived from a decision that a relative of mine decided to do in regards to their own wedding where they opted to do what I have Reece and Audrey doing in this fanfic.


	49. Chapter 49

A/N: This idea came to me as sort "filler" chapter so to speak as I try to figure out what to do for Jake and Grace's wedding. Please stick with me as I am trying to figure it out.

* * *

Chapter Forty-Nine

On one particular Sunday morning it was once again time for a family brunch at the loft. Kate was making all of the food for brunch that morning; so, she was up quite early to start cooking. Rick was still fast asleep when Kate got up. With all the pans and the griddle heating up for use; Kate pulled out the pancake batter along with went with it to make it when she looked down to her phone when it lit up.

 _Hey; Kate, we're running a bit late. Jack and I had a rough night with Hallie last night. We'll be leaving as soon as we can._

Out of the girls; Kate expected Lily to get to the loft first, but then again Lily was still in the newlywed/honeymoon phase with Nicholas Javier, so she had switched to thinking that Alexis, Jack and Hallie Rose would be the first to arrive. Kate picked up her phone to respond.

 _No worries; take your time getting here. I only just started making brunch. Your Dad and brothers are still fast asleep. Audrey and Grace haven't let us know yet if they're joining us. And your sister and brother in law haven't gotten here yet either._

Within seconds of Alexis getting Kate's text; Alexis text back.

 _Okay, we'll be there soon._

With that Kate got back to cooking. One by one; the Castle men woke up and joined Kate.

"Audrey is on her way over for brunch." Reece said after a while.

"Okay, sounds good."

A few minutes later; Jake looked up from his phone.

"Grace is coming too."

Twenty minutes later; both Audrey and Grace were at the loft for brunch. After they had arrived; Alexis, Jack and Hallie Rose arrived.

"Why don't you spend some time with your Uncles?" Alexis said to her daughter as she handed Hallie Rose to Jake and gave Reece the diaper bag.

Hallie Rose babbled in response.

"Any word from Lily and Nick?" Alexis asked as she poured a cup of coffee for herself and Jack.

Everyone else sans Hallie Rose, of course; had their coffee in hand.

"No not yet." Rick answered.

"But that's to be expected at this point." Kate said.

There was a bit of a silence amongst the two married couples in the loft as they all recalled that time after each of their respective weddings and what had followed.

Following their honeymoon; Nicholas Javier and Lily moved into their apartment in Morristown, NJ. Just as Kate had her predicted; Lily and Nicholas Javier were in full-fledged newlywed mode as they laid awake in bed all tangled up in the bed sheet just staring at each other.

"Good morning; Mrs. Ryan."

Lily smiled as she heard Nicholas Javier called her by her new last name for the first time since they tied the knot. The smile then turned into a somewhat devious glint in Lily's eyes.

"Good morning; Mr. Castle." Lily said much like Kate had done many years prior when she and Rick were walking through a hospital hallway to talk to a doctor when they had the case that led them to Diamondback Old West Ranch.

The newlyweds stayed in bed together for a bit longer before they came out of the newlywed haze.

"We've got to get going; everyone is probably at the loft by now waiting for us to get there to have brunch." Lily said.

"Oh okay." Nicholas Javier said.


	50. Chapter 50

A/N: Another "filler" chapter if you will. I am still mulling things over when it comes to Jake and Grace's wedding since I have some concerns about the one idea I have which one of you already knows. Otherwise; thanks for reading and bearing with me when it comes to these last two "filler" chapters.

* * *

Chapter Fifty

Before long; the small little family that Kate had created all those years were all under one roof finally with the arrival of Lily and Nicholas Javier. Of course, over the years that small family evolved into what it was; two son in laws, a grandchild and two daughter in laws to be.

"Married life looks good on you; Lil." Alexis said.

"Thanks."

Jake and Reece were saying hi to their new brother in law. Hallie Rose was now with one of her aunts to be.

"Say hi to Uncle Nick, Hals." Audrey said.

Hallie Rose waved and smiled at Nicholas Javier who took his niece so that Audrey could have a break.

Lily got a bit of an imaginative look on her face when she noticed her new husband holding their niece. Of course; Kate and Alexis being the moms in the family at the moment knew instantly where Lily had gone to.

"So, when are you two getting married?" Lily asked Jake and Grace.

"We haven't decided yet." Grace said.

"Okay…"  
"We were trying to figure that out the day that we went to lunch…" Jake said.

"Oh, the day that we told you guys when we're getting married." Reece chimed in.

Jake nodded in response to his twin.

"But we kept hitting a brick wall." Grace said.

There was a pause. Jake and Grace had come up with one possibility for their nuptials. The thing of it was that they weren't sure how their families would take it. For now; Grace and Jake would wait to share that idea.

Throughout all of this talk; the various dishes that Kate had concocted were making their way to the dining table as the high chair for Hallie Rose got situated.

"You did a lot for brunch; Kate." Audrey said.

In some inadvertent way; Kate was reminded at that point of a conversation she had with Martha and Rick after her apartment had been blown up during a case they worked with Agent Shaw and her team.

 _"Well, she cooks."_

 _"Mhm."_

 _"Actually, my mom was an amazing cook. She used to make Sunday brunch. And I would get the choice between pancakes, omelets, waffles."_

 _"Wow, that's funny. Every Sunday, my mom would have me make her an ice pack and a Bloody Mary."_

 _"Mhm. Don't listen to him. That only happened twice…tops."_

"My mom used to do all of this for Sunday brunch." Kate said once again.

"Oh…"

"I wanted to do what she did for us; for them." Kate continued as indicated to Rick, Alexis, Lily and the twins.

What Kate didn't know was that Alexis continue on the brunch tradition with her own little family and Lily was starting to do the same with hers. It was in that moment that both Audrey and Grace opted to continue the brunch tradition.


	51. Chapter 51

Chapter Fifty-One

Unlike their sisters; Jake and Reece had both opted to start living with their respective significant others before tying the knot. The boys and their respective fiancé had each opted to leave Manhattan much like Alexis and Lily had. Grace and Jake had moved into an apartment in Queens. Audrey and Reece moved into a studio apartment in The Bronx. Of course; after hearing that one of his sons was moving into a New York borough that also boasted that it was the home of the New York Yankees, Rick said that he would crash with Reece and Audrey if he had gone to a game and didn't want to commute back to Manhattan.

Before dinner on the Sunday that the family came together at the loft for Sunday brunch; all the kids went home. Of course; once they get home, the kids all fell into their routines. Reece and Audrey talked about the details in their wedding over dinner that night. That conversation for them carried over in to desert.

Grace and Jake got down to deciding what they wanted to do when it came to their wedding.

"I think that eloping or even just going down to city hall to have a justice do the ceremony is our best bet." Jake said.

As he said this; Jake was remembering a certain moment that he had heard about throughout his life. It was a bit of sage advice Martha had given.

 _"Don't wait. Hell, just go down to city hall right now. You love each other. Stop talking about it. Just do it."_

"As much as I'd like to do that, my love; but I would love to have an actual wedding." Grace replied.

Jake and Grace were in their kitchen making dinner together at this point.

"I know that you do."

Jake knew that having a wedding ceremony was something that all women dreamed of when they were little girls. After all; his mother, sisters and Audrey had dreamed of their wedding day. Grace wouldn't be any different and Jake wanted to make the love his life as happy as humanly possible.

"So, you want a big wedding then?" Jake asked.

"I do want a wedding; it doesn't have to be a big wedding. It can be a wedding of any size."

It wasn't then that Grace remembered another bit of advice of sorts that Jake along with his siblings and his father had been raised knowing. A bit that was always been stated by Martha.

 _"I've always told him, if you're going to do something, do it big or don't do it at all."_

"Then that's what we'll do, have a wedding ceremony; wherever you want."

Grace smiled and kissed her fiancé. After that they had dinner.

By 9:30-10 o'clock that night everyone had settled in to their respective living rooms from the city that never sleeps to two of New Jersey's cities.


	52. Chapter 52

Chapter Fifty-Two

Sometime after Lily had become Mrs. Nicholas Javier Ryan and they had gone on their honeymoon; it was time for the youngest Castle daughter to go out to lunch with the matriarch of the Castle side of the family. Martha had this tradition of sorts that she had started years ago with Kate after Kate had married Rick where Martha would take the newly wedded women in her family out to eat just so she could check in with them to see how they were adjusting to married life. Now of course the men of Castle family and the men that married into family went out with the patriarch of the Beckett family; Jim. As soon as Audrey and Grace had each become a Castle; then they would go out with Martha too.

"So where are you going?" Nicholas Javier asked.

"I don't know; Grams didn't say where we were going out to eat. All she said was that she was coming here from her place and that we'd go somewhere around here."

"Oh okay."

"When are you and Grandpa Jim going out?" Lily asked.

"What do you mean; when are we going out? I thought that Martha was the only one who did that?" Nicholas Javier said.

"Grams does it, but Grandpa Jim takes the guys out. It was something the two of them worked out together after Mom and Dad got married."

"Okay, well he hasn't said anything to me yet."

With that Lily nodded as she slipped into her shoes and they heard a knock at their front door.

"It's probably Grams, can you get that babe?" Lily asked.

"Will do." Nicholas Javier said as he got up from the couch and headed to the door.

A few seconds later; Lily heard Martha saying hello to Nicholas Javier as she came in.

"It's good to see you again, Martha." Nicholas Javier said.

"Hope I didn't interrupt anything. Even if I did; you two can back to it later. Not that I disapprove." Martha quipped.

Nicholas Javier blushed some as Lily shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"You didn't interrupt a thing, Grams."

Shortly after that goodbyes were exchanged and Lily kissed Nicholas Javier before she left with her grandmother.

"So where do you want to go?" Martha asked.

"Anywhere is fine with me."

When this tradition had started; Martha and Kate had gone to Le Cirque. With Alexis; Martha had gone to De Novo European Pub.

"Why don't we go to the Committed Pig? It's pretty close, within walking distance." Lily said.

"Sounds good."

A while later; after they had been seated at the Committed Pig and they had ordered; the two ladies were able to talk.

"So, kiddo; how's married life treating you?" Martha asked.

"It's been great so far, we're still in that honeymoon phase."

"That's good."

For the rest of the time that they were at the Committed Pig; Martha and Lily talked while they ate. By the end of the meal; Martha footed the bill and the two of them went to walk around the various shops that were in Morristown before they returned to Lily and Nicholas Javier's home.


	53. Note to the Readers

To All of My Readers;

I know that it has been an exponentially long time since this fanfiction has last been updated and I do apologize for that. Real life happened as it does to everyone and I hate to say this but I just wasn't feeling it when it came to this fanfiction due to a myriad of reasons. At some point I do plan on returning to this fanfiction but at this time I have no idea when that will be so please bear with me. Thank you all for understanding.

Caskett092313


	54. Chapter 54

After much consideration, I am ending "The Act of Life" and allowing the readers to create their vision of the Castle boys' respective weddings and whatever follows after that. This way whatever it ends up being it is better than what I could possibly come up with. Thank you all for reading what I did come up with for "The Act of Life", it was fun to write this.


End file.
